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Cameraperson: Abhishek Ranjan, Mukul Bhandari
Editor: Rahul Sanpui
(August 20 is the death anniversary of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar. This video is being republished to honor his contributions to Yoga and the way he has impacted thousands of lives.)
Nivedita Joshi, daughter of Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, is currently running the only accredited Iyengar Yoga institute in Delhi, called Yogakshema. After a Master’s degree in Microbiology, she decided to take the path of Yoga. She now teaches students and helps treat many of their health problems.
She explains to us what Iyengar Yoga is, how it is different from other forms of Yoga, and her own miraculous recovery because of it.
Developed by BKS Iyengar after 85 years of practice, experiments and research, Iyengar Yoga is an interpretation of sage Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. With its special focus on alignment, precision and timing of asanas, Iyengar Yoga stands different from other styles.
Nivedita lists down four main points of focus of Iyengar Yoga:
Nivedita was 15 when she was struck with a slipped disc and cervical spondylosis, rendering her virtually bedridden for 12 years. Meeting BKS Iyengar, she believes, changed things in her recovery significantly. After 12 days of practice under him, she managed to perform an assisted handstand (Adho Mukha Vrksasana), modified for her medical condition, she adds.
She further says that he was able to list down her medical problems simply by looking at her skin in their first meeting.
Yoga, she explains, is not just asanas and pranayamas. It is a way of life. Good health is merely a consequence of Yoga.
She stresses the need for modern science to symbiotically co-exist with ancient knowledge. That way, the world could move ahead in a more holistic manner, and more and more people could be helped.
(This International Yoga Day, show us your best yoga moves. Send your entries on fit@thequint.com.)
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Published: 20 Jun 2019,06:29 PM IST