Krishnamacharya seems to

have practiced along with

his students.
Yesterday I posted 120 odd pictures of Krishnamacharya
demonstrating asana from the 3rd edition of his second
book Yogasanagalu, he was 84 at the time. The pictures
were remarkable, how did he manage to stay that strong,
that flexible, his eldest son Desikachar gives us a clue,

".....Of course, he was also doing Āsana for three to four

hours daily in addition to his Prāṇāyāma. His practice was
extremely rigorous and that may account for his being
able to handle these large quantities of spicy and sweet
foods.”

– TKV Desikachar answering questions on T

Krishnamacharya. Originally published in KYM Darśanam
November 1993

I was wondering if he was practicing three to four hours of

asana in the morning or spread throughout the the the
day, here's an account of his daily ritual from his daughter
in law.

The daily life of my father-in-law, Sri T.

Krishnamacharya
- Claire Sribhashyam

"When I started to visit my in-laws, my father-in-law was

already very aged and yet lived to his own rhythms. He
would wake up at 4 in the morning and would go to bed
around 7 in the evening.
One of my best souvenirs was to be woken up every
morning around four by the sound of the prayer bell
announcing the beginning of his prayers. This daily
morning ceremony that lasted an hour and a half was
indeed a great feast for me. At times, I would wake up
earlier and wait for the prayer bell to ring.
My mother-in-law would wake up a little later to open the
door for the milk maid who brought us milk every morning
shouting, below our windows, “pâl”, “pâl” (“pâl” in Tamil
language means milk). Then she would prepare coffee for
all of us and one by one we would all get up.
At the end of his long prayers, he would prepare his
breakfast: wheat semolina roasted and cooked in water
with some spices, coriander leaves and grated coconuts.
He would share his preparation with children before
sitting on the veranda to eat. He would spend some time
reading the day’s newspapers while waiting for his
students. At times, he would retire to his room to read or
to give lessons. Once in a while, he would come to see me
and talk or play with my daughter Sumitra or give me
some advice on how to bring up young children.
In the afternoon, he would stay in the veranda to eat a
fruit, often an orange or some grapes. He would never eat
anything without first giving to children, young or elderly.
In the late afternoon, around 6 p.m., he would sit on the
swing in the garden and watch the street life. Then, he
would retire to bed after having drunk a glass of milk
prepared with sugar, saffron and some cardamom.
Everyone was attentive in not making too much of noise
so as not to disturb him. And, next day at 4 in the
morning, it was he who would give the departure sign for
the new day by his prayer bell.
Ever since, I visit my in-laws, he had always had the same
punctual rhythm. If, I did not hear the prayer bell at 4 in
the morning, I was overcome by a slight anxiety! I would
come out of the bed to see what he was doing. Felling
that I was worried, he would say, with a smile, that he was
late that morning".

So where did his 3-4 hours of asana a day come from, the
pictures below are a clue perhaps, pictures of him
teaching Yvonne Millerand in the 1960s. Krishnamacharya
it seems practiced along with his students. It's good to
know, I've found in my own workshops that I can't seem to
teach or rather 'share the practice' any other way, nice to
know I'm in good company. See my earlier post.

Yvonne Millerand student of Krishnamacharya in the

1960's inc. some excellent pictures.

"He was sitting on the stairs. He greeted us and then

asked me to come to enter the classroom. After a short
pause, sitting in a chair, he said: "Show me what you can
do." I was very impressed, but managed to do all that
came to my mind - the slopes, deflections, cords on both
sides, twisting Pashchimottanasana, Ardha Padmasana,
Sarvangasana, Shirshasana and many others. I sat down
and looked at him. Suddenly he asked me, "Why did you
leave your teacher?" Christine and I replied at once: "He's
dead, sir." English, difficult for my understanding, he said:
"You do not know anything. You do not know how to
breathe and you just jump up and down like a sparrow!
Come back on Friday at 5 pm, not before and not after. "

I arrived just in time. Giving me a few lessons a week, he

started with a simple asana practice. I was to establish a
link between breath and movement. Breathing should be
controlled hand movements, slower breathing, the slower
the movement. Each asana followed repeated at least four
times. After one hour lesson in a sitting position, I learned
the sound Udzhdzhayi and be able to distinguish it from
the nasal sound. He allowed me to begin the simplest
Pranayama - Udzhdzhayi Anuloma and Udzhdzhayi
Viloma.

Krishnamacharya used to tell me, "lift up your chest," for

the fact that, due to the rise of my chest, I could fill the air
flow based on my lungs. After that, he insisted on the
exhale with the abdominal muscles and the perineum.
Breathe in and out - of course, but with the insertion of
pauses, everything changes. Coached control is felt as an
affirmation of life and gives a sense of a better life, by
controlling breathing and blood circulation, which are
interrelated. This is what I felt.

After a few asanas, he taught me the role of counter-

poses, whose mission is to revert certain negative
consequences. He taught me a variety of asanas that I
never met. He never imposed me their names in Sanskrit
and wherever possible used the English - "posture bed,
mountain pose, stand on their shoulders, stand on your
head, etc." On the other hand, he taught me all the names
of Pranayam in Sanskrit. After a while he began to
measure my heart rate before and after class. My heart
rate should not exceed 65 beats per minute, that he was
sure that my breath harmoniously followed the efforts
during the practice of asanas".
Follow the link above for the full article
Here's another account of Krishnamacharya teaching this
time from Richard Schechner,
'Richard said K’s teaching methodology consisted of 4
steps. First, he would demonstrate. Then he would dictate
the steps verbally and Richard would take notes and/or
draw a picture. Then K had Richard do it while he dictated
the steps. Lastly, Richard would do it on his own and K
would watch without dictating'. p6
RICHARD SCHECHNER'S NOTEBOOK 42
by Daniel Dale

See my earlier post

Namarupa : Richard Schechner's notebook on his studies
with KrishanamacharyaPhotographs by Eddie Stern