Krishnamacharya:
a life, a book and
a practice for
winter warriors
AG Mohan describes his
experience of learning yoga from
his teacher Sri Krishnamacharya.
Mohan studied with Krishnama-
charya for 18 years until the death
of his teacher in 1989 at the age
of 100.
The father of modern yoga
Tirumalai Krishnamacharya is widely
considered to be one of the most
influential yoga teachers on the
development of modern yoga. He
is often referred to as the 'father of
modern yoga'. It is without doubt that
his most famous students spread the
word and practice of yoga far and
wide.
During his life time Krishnamacharya
had no desire for personal fame or
material success. This is the main
reason why a lot of yoga practitioners
may not know who he is and the
impact he had on spreading the
ancient wisdom of yoga. One of his
favourite sayings was 'a capable
student brings fame to the teacher'.
This book serves to shine some fame
on this important, authentic, pivotal
yoga teacher.
Krishnamacharya’s life
The book starts with a touching
insight into Krishnamacharya, the
man. Ganesh Mohan, the author’s
son, describes how approachable and
encouraging his father’s teacher was.
He also details how he used to give
him sweetened almonds as a treat.
24 The British Wheel of Yoga spectrum magazine
Yogasmiths Paul and Steve
get into the woods for a
practice taken from a key
Krishnamacharya book they
explore and review in this
feature.
Krishnamcharya was born in 1888 and
his first teacher was his own father
who taught him the vedas, asana
and pranayama. He was clearly a
very intelligent man, obtaining two
degrees from Mysore University.
Krishnamacharya obtained a
scholarship and a further degree
in yoga and the theory of samkhya
from Patna University. It is clear that
the young Krishnamacharya was
academically gifted and had a thirst
for knowledge which he pursued. A
significant period in his early life was
studying yoga in the Himalayas with
his teacher for seven years.
Mohan presents the overview of
Krishnamacharya’s life with the caveat
that it is difficult to ascertain precise
details and that Krishnamacharya
himself did give differing accounts
himself throughout his life. He was a
man who did not like to talk about his
achievements and this humility results
in a degree of uncertainty.
Meeting his teacher
Mohan talks about his own life
and how he started to explore the
deeper meanings of life. He was
told, whilst working on a project, to
speak to a colleague called Srivatsa
Ramaswami who recommended
he attend a lecture being given by
Krishnamacharya. Srivatsa Ramaswami
is today a respected teacher himself
and studied for 33 years with
Krishnamacharya. Mohan’s beautiful
description of attending the lecture
and meeting Krishnamacharya is a joy
to read. It sets his life on a completely
different course.
Krishnamacharya: his life and teachings
by AG Mohan (with Ganesh Mohan),
Shambhala Publications (2010)
Mohan takes us through his
experience of being taught asana
and philosophy by Krishnamacharya.
It is interesting to learn how
Krishnamacharya imparted his
knowledge to his students. He
never referred to notes or books, his
knowledge retained in his memory,
texts and scriptures recited from
memory, with nothing written down.
It is striking how basic and simple the
room was in which Krishnamacharya
lived and taught: 'He was a person
of few possessions, and the room
reflected the simplicity of his life. It
was furnished with only a chair, a bed
and a carpet for asana practice.”
It is very insightful how
Krishnamacharya, with his vast and
detailed knowledge of many yoga
texts, was also very discerning in what
he taught. He did not teach kriya to
his students and also would not teach
parts of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
This is quite refreshing to read, as I
am sure many readers will know the
Hatha Yoga Pradipika has some very
bizarre practices detailed, which we
think might likely get teachers arrested
if they tried to teach them to their
students.
The source of modern vinyasa
Krishnamacharya created the
vinyasa system of yoga. This is such
a commonplace style of yoga in our
modern world. Krishnamacharya
was the first person to intelligently
sequence asana one after the other
with the movement between the
positions being linked to the breath.
This transformed yoga from a static

1 inspired by
4 our egos to one side and to ‘go
practice to a dynamic practice. One of
Krishnamacharya’s favourite vinyasa
sequences that he frequently taught
was based around the Warrior postures
and is included in the back of this book.
As part of this article, after the book
review, I have laid out this sequence so
that you can try it for yourself.
Krishnamacharya taught yoga one to
one and also therapeutically to those
with ill health. It was only in his early
life of teaching yoga that he conducted
group classes. When approaching
asana his attitude was to 'never use
force in teaching or practicing asana'.
We think it's a shame that some of
his students who went on to become
famous teachers did not adhere to this
advice!
A criticism often levelled at
Krishnamacharya is for the yoga
demonstrations that he held. These
were mostly with the boys he taught
at the Mysore palace performing
advanced asana, sometimes with
Krishnamacharya standing on them.
In this book Mohan describes how
Krishnamacharya dismissed these
performances as 'yoga propaganda'
that were, perhaps, necessary at the
time to popularise and publicise yoga.
It icould be argued that, given the way
he lived his life, this was not something
he enjoyed.
The chapters of this book cover
pranayama, kriyas, yoga therapy,
yamas, niyamas and meditation. Mohan
2 3
5 practice requires us to leave
imparts his teachers wisdom on these
topics.
The later years
Mohan was Krishnamacharya’s student
until his teacher’s death in 1989.
The later years of his life are fondly
recounted. He was in good health
both physically and mentally in his
final years. His physical health was
only really affected by a hip fracture,
for which he refused to have surgery!
Mohan describes how he was able to
assist his teacher and help care for him.
In summary – a must read
In our opinion this book is a 'must' for
any serious student of yoga. It gives
an authentic insight into the origins
of our modern yoga practice. We see
Krishnamacharya as the incredibly
intelligent erudite father of modern
yoga. A person who was devoted to
learning and spreading the teachings
of yoga. A humble man who never
sought fame or fortune, who actually
clearly struggled through his life to
make ends meet. Yet a man whose
legacy is evident in all corners of the
world. When we look at lineage in the
yoga tradition, Krishnamacharya is the
source that I find myself referring back
to more and more frequently.
A reliable intelligent reference for
our modern practice. If you wish to
purchase this book I would encourage
you to buy ethically. The Ethical
Consumer website rates Blackwells
highly and recommends boycotting
Amazon.
The British Wheel of Yoga spectrum magazine
A vinyasa flow
the 'father of
modern yoga'
This warrior (virabhadrasana)
based vinyasa practice was a
favourite of Krishnamacharya’s.
I have been teaching this in my
own yoga classes. It is a nicely
balanced practice of some
easier postures mixed with some
more challenging postures. The
with the flow’ and practise to our
comfortable level of ability. Let us
embrace our wobbles and soar
above the ego!
Krishnamacharya advised students,
when practicing this flowing sequence,
to bring to mind the feeling of being a
bird, that you are above the world and
its concerns.
'I am without any fear or burden. I am
not troubled by the future or the past,
flying above worldly pressures.'
As detailed in Mohan’s book,
Krishnamacharya was not a great fan
of giving postures elaborate names.
In this sequence are postures and
transitions that perhaps do not have
an exact name.
Start in Samasthiti, equal standing
pose with hands together in front of
the heart, Inhaling (Picture 1).
Exhaling, take a step forward with the
left foot, feet hip distance apart, pelvis
pointing forwards, both feet pointing
forwards, legs straight but not locked
out (Picture 2).
Inhaling sweep the arms up overhead,
palms facing, shoulders down and
away from the ears (Picture 3).
Exhaling hinge forwards at the hips
leading with the chest then allowing
the spine to gently round forward as
you lower the hands to the mat either
side of the front foot or lowering the
hands to the shin if you can not reach
the floor, Parsvottanasana (Picture 4).
Inhaling, hinge back up leading with
the chest, straight back. Sweeping the
arms up over head, palms facing and
lunge into the left knee into a Warrior 1
pose (Picture 5).
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10
14
Exhaling, lowering the arms down,
bending at the elbows and drawing
them back, palms facing upwards
(Picture 6).
Inhaling extend the arms out straight
to either side into a T shape (Picture 7).
Exhaling rotate the torso to the rear
leg (right leg), moving gently and
ensuring there is no discomfort in the
knees, gazing towards the rear hand
(Picture 8).
Inhaling rotating the torso to face
forwards with the arms out to either
side in a T shape (Picture 9).
Exhaling bringing all the weight into
the front foot, hinge forward at the
hips, keeping the arms out to the side
in a T shape, lifting the rear foot from
the mat, engaging core and pelvic
floor to aid balance (Picture 10).
Inhaling take the palms together over
head into a Warrior 3 pose (Picture 11).
Exhaling twisting the torso to the side
to work to stack the hip of the raised
leg on top of the balancing leg. This is
a tricky transition and will be limited by
your adductors on the balancing leg.
Just move into this with gentleness,
exploring your comfortable range of
movement. You can always bring the
rear leg down to the floor and rest on
tip toes to assist in stacking the hips
(Picture 12).
26 The British Wheel of Yoga spectrum magazine
7 8
11
Inhaling, twisting the torso back so that
you have a flat and level pelvis, rear
leg still raised, hands together over
head in a Warrior 3 pose (Picture 13).
Exhaling lowering the hands down to
the mat keeping the rear leg raised.
You can bring the hands closer to the
balancing foot and lift the rear leg
higher if your flexibility allows (Picture
14).
Inhaling lowering the rear leg to the
mat, feet hip distance apart grounding
down through both feet and raising the
arms up overheard and lungeing into
the front knee into a Warrior 1 pose
(Picture 5).
Exhaling lowering the arms out to
either side into a T shape, hands level
with the shoulders (Picture 7).
Inhaling bending at the elbows and
drawing them back, palms facing
upwards (Picture 6).
Exhaling straightening the front leg
and bringing the hands together in
front of the heart (Picture 2).
Inhaling stepping the front foot back to
samasthiti – equal standing pose with
the hands together in front of the heart
(Picture 1).
Return to the start of the instructions
and repeat leading with the other
foot (right foot). I would recommend
running through the sequence slowly
a couple of times, pausing in the
different stages before flowing through
with the breath instruction.
Some options
At picture eight, you could pivot on the
rear foot and adopt a Warrior 2 foot
position. This takes out the rotation in
9
12 13
the spine. I prefer to teach this with the
Warrior 1 foot position through out as
I think it flows better and it is nice to
add in a gentle spinal rotation.
You can always miss out picture 12
if you feel it is too difficult. I have
taught the sequence both with this
stage in and without it. You could also
lower one hand towards the floor and
explore Half Moon Pose.
I have used this practice in a Sun
Salutation B, beginning it when
stepping forward from Downward
Facing Dog. This can create a
very enjoyable substantial flowing
sequence.
Be creative
We hope you enjoy this flowing
sequence as much as we do with its
mix of easy and challenging postures.
Krishnamacharya was very creative
in his sequencing so we encourage
you to be creative too. Use this flow
however you see fit, add some extra
poses in if you wish, take some out,
pause and hold the poses if you would
like to. Go with the flow and see where
it takes you! We would love to hear
how you get on with it!
We will be creating an instructional
YouTube video to accompany this
article to take you through the flow on
both sides slowly and then as a breath
led flow. Embrace the wobbles with a
smile and soar above the ego!
Paul and Steve Smith are directors of
Yogasmiths Limited. They run regular
online yoga classes, events and the
BWYT Foundation Course 1.
Check out their website at
W: www.yogasmiths. org and their
instagram and facebook pages
@yogasmithsorg