An Untold Story of the “ Tirumalai Krishnamacharya” , the man who founded Modern Yoga

Yoga is an Indian art of endurance and peace. Yoga is defined as a system of exercises for the body that involves breath control and helps relax both your mind and body. As per Hindu Philosophy , it aims to unite the self with the spirit of the universe.

International yoga day is celebrated on 21st June every year since 2015.It was invented by the honorable Prime minister Narendra Modi on September 27, 2014 in UNGA. It is a matter of pride for all the Indians that a lost art of India has been found and welcomed by entire world. Unfortunately , people know little about the one who invented the Yoga we know today.

The modern Yoga is said to be found by Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. Most probably, you would have not heard of him because he ascribed his own innovations to the ancient tradition. More traditionally, the most ancient forms of yoga belongs to the yoga sutra, a group of aphorisms composed around 400 AD and ascribed to Patanjali. People say, that at the age of 16 years ;Tirumalai Krishnamacharya went in a trance and then a legendary sage Nathamuni revealed to him a long-lost text, the Yoga Rahasya. This incident happened around 1904 AD. After which India got extremely influenced by western acrobats like Gymnastics. In the early twentieth century Maharaja Krisharaja Wodiyar IV invited Tirumalai Krishnamacharya to his palace. The king had a great quest to learn an Indian traditional art as he was an enthusiast of gymnastics and body builder, but also had great regards for traditional Indian forms of exercise and that’s where the Yoga we know today was invented.

The three leading pioneers of Yoga , K Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi, and BKS Iyengar were all taught by Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. These were the first Indians to introduce Yoga to the world. Tomorrow is Yoga day and being an Indian it is to our pride to know about the person whose practices are now being adopted as the way of life.

Happy Yoga Day to all!!!