THE VINIYOGA® TRADITION
Yogācārya T Krishnamacharya
Professor T Krishnamacharya
Professor Tirumalai Krishnamacharya is known worldwide as the father of modern Yoga. He revolutionized Yoga in the 20th century and made it accessible to everyone. He was an outstanding Vedic scholar who was versed in all the six philosophies of Indian thought, as well as in other Vedic disciplines such as Ayurveda and Astrology.
Later in life, he opened the doors of Vedic Chanting, previously only allowed to male Brahmins, to every sincere student, independent of age, religion, nationality, caste or gender. He stood for a profound yet practical approach to Yoga, where all the tools of Yoga are implemented and wisely adapted to meet the needs, abilities, goals and requirements of each individual. He understood the body not just as a physical construct, but as part of a holistic entity.
He propagated a Yoga that is not superficial but works on and with the subtle aspects of energy, what the Yogis call Prana. During his life he showed that Yoga can be used as a holistic practice, a way of life that connects body, mind and spirit, a spiritual path, and also as an extremely potent healing tool. Apart from being a Yoga Teacher, Krishnamacharya was known as a powerful healer and helped many people with ailments in body, mind and spirit.
His students, including Indra Devi, Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar and his son TKV Desikachar, testify to the significance of his life’s work and to the breadth of teachings that he stood for. They underline his position as one of the most significant Yoga masters, teachers and therapists of the modern era.
Yogācārya TKV Desikachar
Sir TKV Desikachar
T.K.V. Desikachar studied civil engineering before he decided to dedicate his life to Yoga. Being impeccably precise yet practical, he was always interested in making Yoga more accessible to every practitioner. He knew that the knowledge of his father was extraordinary, but that it needed to be explained in a way that every student of Yoga could understand. He wrote “The Heart of Yoga”, a worldwide bestseller and one of the most cherished books on Yoga, as an attempt to explain Yoga’s philosophy and foundations to a a broad audience.
He designed the first stick figures, so that asana practices could be easily grasped and remembered by students. He broke the Sanskrit sentences of the Yoga Sutras into smaller parts, so people from all over the world could learn to recite and memorize them.
His main focus was always to present the profundity of Yoga in a simple, modern and practial way. When Desikachar explained even difficult concepts of Yoga in workshops or seminars around the world, he was able to present them in a manner that modern students could understand, embrace and relate to.
Living in the same household as his father and teacher, Desikachar was introduced to the full range of Krishnamacharya’s teachings and was able to witness how his father’s teachings developed over the decades. Krishnamacharya shared as much of his knowledge with his son as he could and never stopped teaching him. For example, Desikachar studied the Yoga Sutras nine times in three decades with his father, a process that revealed ever deeper layers of the text to him. As the most important lesson, Krishnamacharya stressed how the tools of Yoga must always be applied to respect a person’s constitution, his goals, lifestyle, as well as his emotional, energetical, mental and psychological state. Desikachar was particularly impressed and attracted by the healing capacities of his father’s Yoga and became an outstanding pulse reader and Yoga Therapist himself. He also had an outstanding ability to read people and knew what they needed from him. He became instrumental in expounding the role of Yoga Therapy in the world and founded the first Yoga Therapy clinic in Chennai in dedication to his father. In 2006, he cofounded the Krishnamacharya Healing and Yoga Foundation with his son Kausthub in order to spread the Yoga teachings internationally.
He continued the teaching legacy of his father and always taught his students one-to-one with personalizing their practices, stressing that Yoga always has to be taught individually and not in groups. Throughout his career, T.K.V. Desikachar has helped and healed numerous people with Yoga Therapy and is known as one of the most respected and famous Yoga Teachers as well as the most significant Yoga Therapist of our times.
To download the Prārthana-ślokāni (invocatory chants), that honours the key teachers or our tradition, kindly click here>
Dr. Kausthub Desikachar
Dr. Kausthub Desikachar is the successor and current lineage holder of the classical Viniyoga tradition of T Krishnamacharya & TKV Desikachar. He is an acclaimed yoga teacher, yoga therapist, healer and spiritual adviser. His objectives include the sharing of the authentic teachings of Yoga to the modern era, as well as building bridges between different healing modalities to promote physical, emotional social and spiritual health.
Dr. Kausthub Desikachar began studying yoga when he was 9 years old under the guidance of his teacher and father TKV Desikachar and started teaching at the age of 13. After completing his dual Masters degree from the renowned Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences, Pilani, he committed himself to becoming a full-time student and teacher of Yoga. Later in 2011, he concluded his doctoral studies from Psychology Department at the University of Madras, where his topic of research was “Effect of Individualised Yoga Training on Quality of Life.”
For more than two decades, Kausthub has taught a multitude of students and teachers around the globe and has conducted numerous teacher and therapist training programs.
Dr. Kausthub Desikachar also works as a Yoga Therapist and offers clients astute and effective solutions for all sorts of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual illnesses. He combines his classical training in Yoga and Ayurveda, his modern education of psychology, and his interactions with traditional healers worldwide, to offer optimum and effective synergetic solutions to alleviate a wide range of problems.
Dr Kausthub Desikachar
As a Yoga educator, Dr. Kausthub Desikachar is known for his remarkable, deep and well versed knowledge and his ability to present the ancient teachings in a way that is profound as well as applicable for modern day practitioners. He treats each student with the respect, compassion and dignity, and honours their capacity for growth and transformation. His teachings are especially beneficial for yoga teachers and yoga therapists as he helps them grasp the fullness and deep insights of the ancient teachings so that they are able to apply them in a competent and sincere way.
Dr. Kausthub Desikachar is currently an advisor to the Korean Yoga Alliance, Pranamanasyoga (a Yoga Therapy School in Spain), Be Yoga Norway and also the Yoga Therapy Advisor to Platinum Hospital, Mumbai. He is also an Adjunct Faculty for Yoga Therapy at Council For Yoga Therapy Education and Research (CYTER) at the Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth University, Pondicherry. He is also in the Editorial Board of Annals of Yoga and Physical Therapy, a newly initiated peer-reviewed open access journal based in the USA, with an aim to develop a platform for innovative researchers working in the areas of Yoga and Physical Therapy.
He has also been an advisor to the International Association of Yoga Therapists and a Patron to the British Wheel of Yoga.
He has also authored and co-authored numerous books on yoga, such as "The Heart of Asana: A comprehensive manual on Classical Yoga Postures” and a biography on his grandfather, the great yoga acharya T. Krishnamacharya, called "The Yoga of the Yogi".
Apart from Yoga Teaching, Kausthub is also an avid photographer, inspirational writer and poet. He is the co-founder of "Synergies in Healing", an online journal that focuses on bridging ancient wisdom and modern-day science. To view, some of his inspirations, visit his website www.kausthubdesikachar.com
Dr Kausthub Desikachar is a champion of women’s empowerment and guides many of his female students to embody their strength. To view his interviews with Viniyoga Women, visit this page here - https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/viniyoga-women
He also offers a Mantra blog, where students can listen to different Mantras from the Vedic Tradition. To benefit from this, visit here - https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/mantra
Dr Kausthub Desikachar also assists many clients in their healing journey that includes mental health issues. He regularly writes articles on Mental Health issues and these can be found here - https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/mental-health
Being an amazing Yoga Therapist and Spiritual guide, Dr Kausthub Desikachar also offers insightful mentoring through private consultations, which can be taken either face-to-face or online. To book a session with him, kindly visit his private consultations page by clicking here>
Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation (KHYF)
The Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation (KHYF) was launched by TKV Desikachar and his son & student, Dr.Kausthub Desikachar in 2006. Consistent with the wish of TKV Desikachar, it was founded specifically to spread the teachings of Viniyoga® globally as the tradition was growing rapidly all over the world. TKV Desikachar also established the KHYF as the international anchor of the tradition. Thus the Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation (KHYF) is the worldwide headquarters and official umbrella organisation representing the complete and authentic Viniyoga® tradition of Professor T Krishnamacharya and TKV Desikachar globally.
The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM), an Indian charitable Institution, founded by TKV Desikachar earlier, was primarily set up with legal and statutory provisions to operate only in India, barring it from any activity outside of India. This means that the KYM is able to continue with its very different work as an Indian yoga therapy clinic.
Viniyoga Pte. Ltd. is an affiliate school of Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation (KHYF), India.