Amrita 6: Asana through the ages - Magazine - Page 17
Sweet are
the Uses of
Adversity
RUTH WHITE describes her experience at
the feet of a master, B.K.S Iyengar
www.yogaallianceprofessionals.org
WHEN B K S IYENGAR arrived in
London from Pune, India, his
very first class was attended by
three ladies, Angela Morris, Eileen Percy and Diana Clifton; it
was from these three students
that his teaching spread and today there are schools worldwide.
Like many other Master teachers, Iyengar has faced and overcome great challenges in his life,
using them to his supreme advantage. As Shakespeare so aptly
put it: ‘The sweet uses of adversity.’1 In his early years he suffered
from tuberculosis and had a
hunch back. He cured himself
through the practice of asana and
pranayama and since then he
practised pranayama every day of
his life. He had a wonderful lung
capacity and could extend his inhalation to two minutes and his
exhalation also to two minutes.
Iyengar was a sickly lad with
strong will power, an attribute
that he still had at the age of 95.
AMRITA Issue 6 / Spring 2021 15
