BKS Iyengar was born on 14th December 1918 in Bellur, a small village on the southwestern state of Karnataka, India. He was a very weak and sickly child with little hope of survival and came close to death a number of times.

At 16 years old he went to live with his sister and brother-in-law Krishnamacharya (a great Yoga master who taught yoga at the Palace of Mysore) who agreed to teach his nephew yoga to improve his health. As BKS Iyengar had been bed bound for many years, he struggled in his practice, but in 1937 Krishnamacharya sent BKS Iyengar to teach yoga at the Pune Gymkhana. Feeling ‘under qualified’ to be called a Yoga Teacher, he began to practice 10 hours a day to learn the subtleties of each pose and its effects on the body and mind.

At over 88 years of age, he is one of the greatest Yoga Masters of all time with millions of students worldwide. He continues to practice daily.