Resources

Prayers for Divine Blessings

Invocation to Patanjali

Listen to Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar chanting the Invocation to Sri Patanjali, the codifier of the teachings of Yoga into the Yoga Sutras.

Read Dr. Geeta S. Iyengar’s explanation of who Sri Patanjali is, why the invocation is chanted and the importance of understanding the meaning of the words that comprise it.

Invocation to the Guru

The Guru Stotram honors the three aspects of the Guru. Click here to chant “call and response” with Geeta Iyengar.

Gurur Brahmā Gurur Viṣṇu Gururdevo Maheśvaraḥ
Guruḥ Sākṣāt Parabrahma
Tasmai Śrī Gurave Namaḥ

The Guru is the creator, the sustainer, and the destroyer of all.
The Guru is the infinite essence of all three.
Salutations to that Guru.

Invocation to B.K.S. Iyengar

Click here to listen to the composer of the invocation, Srineet Iyengar, chant the shlokas (verses) dedicated to his grandfather and Guru.

vaijñānikaṃ pravakt ṛtva
āsaneṣu kalāvidaṃ
yogābhyāse ca tattvajñaṃ
vande’haṃ sundaraṃ guruṃ

To the one who was a scientist in his teachings,
an artist in his asanas,
and in the study of yoga – a philosopher, a knower of the ultimate truth,
to Guru Sundararaja, I bow.

yogavṛkṣo hi loke’smin
yatpreraṇena vardhitaḥ
yogācārya guro tubhyaṃ
sundarāya namo namaḥ

The one by whose impetus, by whose inspiration,
the tree of yoga has grown and flourished in this world,
to you Guru Sundararaja, salutations and salutations!

Websites

B.K.S. Iyengar: www.bksiyengar.com
Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States (IYNAUS): www.iynaus.org
Iyengar Yoga Association of New England: www.iyane.org
Iyengar Yoga Association of Greater New York: www.iyengarnyc.org

Books

Light on Yoga, by B.K.S. Iyengar
Light on Life, by B.K.S. Iyengar
Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, by B.K.S. Iyengar
Light on Pranayama, by B.K.S. Iyengar
Astadala Yogamala, Volumes 1 – 8, by B.K.S. Iyengar
Core of the Yoga Sutras, by B.K.S. Iyengar
Yoga in Action: A Preliminary Course, by Geeta S. Iyengar
Yoga in Action: An Intermediate Course, by Geeta S. Iyengar
Yoga: A Gem for Women, by Geeta S. Iyengar
A Woman’s Book of Yoga and Health, by Linda Sparrowe and Patricia Walden
Woman’s Yoga Book, by Bobby Clennell
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, by Edwin F. Bryant
The Bhagavad Gita, by Winthrop Sargeant
The Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation, by George Thompson
The Bhagavad Gita, by Eknath Easwaran
The Upanishads, by Eknath Easwaran

Videos

In this clip from “Yoga Unveiled,” B.K.S. Iyengar shares this yoga story. He was born during the influenza pandemic of 1918 and was suffering from the effects of poor health and extreme poverty when he began to practice Yoga under his brother-in-law and Guru, Sri T. Krishnamacharya.

This is a video of B.K.S. Iyengar demonstrating postures (asanas) at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. He is 69 years old.

Props

The following Yoga props are recommended, yet not required. You really only need yourself to practice!

1 wall, with some blank space and, if possible, in a corner

1 Yoga mat, that is thin enough to feel the floor underneath your feet

3 blankets, the Mexican-style striped blankets are readily available

2 blocks, if ordering wood, see that the edges are user-friendly and if ordering foam, see that it is hard enough to support the weight of your body

1 or 2 belts, 6 or 8 feet is useful for average height bodies; if you have long legs and/or stiffness order one that is 10 feet long

1 bolster, which can also be made by rolling two of the Mexican-style blankets together

1 backless Yoga chair, these can be ordered but there are excellent how-to videos online as well