Happy Birthday, Mr. Iyengar

On Monday, December 14th, Google did a few fun doodles to celebrate B.K.S. Iyengar’s 97th birthday. I hope you saw them. Mr. Iyengar was one of the most important yoga instructors in the world, and he died last year, leaving behind a wealth of knowledge on yoga. My teacher’s parents went to B.K.S. Iyengar because they were unable to conceive children. Iyengar guided them with asana and, soon after, Aadil Palkhivala was born. Lucky for us all! Aadil began to formally study with Iyengar at the age of seven and continued for three decades.

I am thankful for Mr. Iyengar, his profound understanding of the body, and his refinement of asana. I am thankful to him for supporting the birth of my yoga teacher and for teaching yoga asana to Aadil for thirty ­five years. Ten years in and I hope I have at least another twenty­ five years to study with Aadil. It’s an honor to be a part of this lineage.