Tirumalai Krishnamacharya
1888–1989 CE
- First attested
- 1934Documented in his seminal 1934 treatise Yoga Makaranda published under the patronage of the Maharaja of Mysore.
A master teacher multiplies their impact by empowering diverse students to develop their own unique gifts.
T. Krishnamacharya, Yoga Makaranda (1934); A. G. Mohan, Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings (2010).
The father of modern postural yoga who taught Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi.
Tirumalai Krishnamacharya was an Indian yogi, Ayurvedic physician, and scholar often revered as the father of modern yoga. Teaching at the Mysore Palace yogashala in the 1930s under royal patronage, Krishnamacharya developed dynamic, flowing asana sequences synchronized with breath (vinyasa). His students included B.K.S. Iyengar (founder of Iyengar Yoga), K. Pattabhi Jois (founder of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga), Indra Devi, and his son T.K.V. Desikachar (Viniyoga), effectively shaping almost every style of yoga practiced globally today.
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Masterful teacher, personalized therapeutic application (Viniyoga), and preserving Sanskrit scholarship.
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Attributing modern sequences to an unverifiable lost text (Yoga Kurunta).
