A Tribute to BKS Iyengar
Today I mourn the passing of a towering yogi, teacher, and philosopher - B.K.S. Iyengar. His teachings and presence changed the landscape of yoga, and the world feels a little quieter without him. Though I was never his direct student, I was profoundly influenced by his rigor, clarity, and love of the path. So many of us, students and teachers yoga alik, stand on foundations he helped lay.
Early Days: Books as Our Guides
My brother and I began practicing in 1969, when yoga books were our only teachers. One of the very first was Light on Yoga. Page after page, Iyengar’s asanas radiated strength, precision, and inner stillness. We sat for hours in the park trying to learn from those photos and captions, tasting a fraction of what this remarkable yogi embodied. His crisp explanations of philosophy made abstract ideas feel practical, and they shaped how future teachers yoga would communicate alignment, breath, and attention.
A Meeting in Mysore
Decades later, in 2005, I was fortunate to see B.K.S. Iyengar in Mysore on Maui when he visited my teacher, K. Pattabhi Jois, for Guruji’s 90th birthday. They hadn’t seen each other for 65 years. Their reunion was electric, an unmistakable recognition between two elders who had devoted lifetimes to practice and teaching. In that room, lineage wasn’t an idea; it was a felt reality, a transmission carried by two luminous yogi spirits whose work continues to guide countless teachers yoga around the world.
A Living Legacy
Thank you, Mr. Iyengar. Your legacy lives in the students you taught directly and in those of us who met you through your books, your demonstrations, and your example. Every time a yogi pauses to align with care, every time teachers yoga slow down to make a posture accessible, your influence is present. May we honor you by teaching with clarity, practicing yoga with sincerity, and meeting each other with kindness.
With greatest respect,
David Swenson