Yoga guru and founder of Krishnamacharya Yoga Foundation T. K. V. Desikachar passed away on Monday, Aug 8.
Desikachar moved to Chennai from Mysore in the 60’s. With a degree in structural engineering, he started his career as an engineer, but was inspired by the teachings of his father, T. Krishnamacharya, and became his student in the 1960’s. He remained his student for nearly thirty years until his father’s death in 1989.
He founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, a non-profit yoga center, in 1976 to share and propagate the teachings of his teacher. In 2006, along with his son Kausthub, he founded the Krishnamacharya Healing and Yoga Foundation with a view to taking the teachings of his father to all parts of the world.
For over 50 years, Desikachar has devoted himself to teaching yoga and making it relevant to people from all walks of life and with all kinds of abilities. His teaching method is based on Krishnamacharya’s fundamental principle that yoga must always be adapted to an individual’s changing needs in order to derive the maximum therapeutic benefit. In his journey as a teacher, he has taught people of many nationalities and all walks of life.
Teaching regularly both within and outside the country, Desikachar has also participated in many international conventions and conferences.
His books include the “Health, Healing and Beyond” and “The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice”. He has recently authored the first ever translation of the classical yoga text “Yogayajnavalkya Samhita”.
He has also co-authored with his son Kausthub, a book titled “Vedic Chant Companion”. His latest work “The Viniyoga of Yoga”, co-authored with Kausthub and Frans Moors, deals with the application of asana and pranayama to various needs.
Contact his family at 24937416.
