That hordes of visitors pour into Mysore to be bewitched by its numerous ‘must see’ tourists spots is a well-known fact. But there is one more of the city’s attractions that draws visitors from far and near and that is yoga tourism. Like the city’s many facets, yoga too has a long history. And one legend, Krishnamachar, gave the world its ashtanga yoga experts who are now helping crores of people lead a healthy life, by body, mind and soul.

Krishnamachar came to Mysore in 1932 and by 1936 he had made a name for himself as a yoga guru so much so that students at the Sringeri Shankara Mutt were referred to go to ‘Sanskrit Pathashale’ to learn yoga basics along with knowledge from ancient Sanskrit texts. To train members of the royal family, Aramane Yogashale was started during the period of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV in the palace premises.

Krishnamachar studied yoga and philosophy at the Benares and Allahabad universities. His students found a rishi like personality in him. He stayed at Mount Kailash for eight years to learn yoga chikitsa or yoga therapy. Wadiyar himself was a disciple of Krishnamachar. The king asked the teacher to seek anything he wanted. But Krishnamachar refused. He stayed in Mysore till the early fifties and spent the latter part of his life in Chennai. The acharya went on to live for 101 years.

One of the surviving students of Krishnamachar and himself a yoga stalwart is Pattabhi Jois. One look at him and you won’t believe he is 93! Some of the earliest students of Jois from countries like France and USA made him a household name in many countries, an honour shared perhaps only by BKS Iyengar, another living legend presently settled in Pune and who also happens to be Krishnamachar’s student.

Jois also served as professor and Head of the Department of yoga at the Maharaja Sanskrit College from 1976-78. Superstar Madonna, pop sensation Sting and Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow are among his celebrity students. He was honoured with the title ‘Yogasana Visharada’ by Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Puri in 1945.
Jois’ book in Kannada, Yoga Mala, is considered the last word on the subject and has been translated into English and published by Farrar Strauss and Giroux (FSG) in the US.

In 1986, the Karnataka Government presented him with the Patanjali Gold Medal.
And there was no stopping for the likes of Iyengar and Jois, since a certificate from their institutes is even today considered authentic and a virtual passport to start a yoga teaching centre in any part of the world. There may be countless yoga teachers and centres across the world, but those following the Krishnamachar tradition can vouch for their system, because the asanas they teach have a link to the texts and the philosophy of it all.

Agasthya Samhite, Kashyapa Samhite, Geranda Samhite, Suta Samhite, Yoga Yagnavalka, the Upanishads, ‘hatayoga pradeepike’ and other scriptures detail the yoga asanas, their philosophical meaning and their benefits. In addition, there are books on the ashtanga yoga tradition, as postulated by sage Patanjali.

Explaining hatayoga, Jois says it is the technique of directing the inhaled air to the path of the soul. In short, yoga and pranayama, besides curing diseases, are the secret for a healthy and long life, adds Jois. He, however, regrets that people tend to start yoga centres after learning a few asanas and without going into their philosophical and scriptural links. In this modern age, giving scientific explanations to yogic aspects too is important.

“Kundalini yoga is nothing but triggering off the kundalini energy through yoga, and the energy (fire) transforms itself into sound energy before becoming ‘chit’ shakthi - the power of knowledge that gives goodness (sat) and ultimate joy (ananda),” explains BNS Iyengar, another student of Krishnamachar and the yoga teacher at the famous yoga school at the Parakala Mutt in the city, where foreigners coming to learn the various secrets of yoga is not uncommon. In fact, Krishnamachar stayed at the Mutt where he studied and practiced yoga. The practice of holding ‘vidwat sabhas’ (meetings of scholars) that were in vogue at that time, is held during Dasara even now.

Human body is compared to a machine and the kundalini energy is triggered off in mooladhara chakra and it travels through sushumna (the spine) to reach the sahasrara to give brahmananda (ultimate joy). There are also other chakras like swadhishthana, manipooraka, anahata and vishuddhi. Yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyakara, dharana, dhyana (meditation) and samadhi are the eight forms of yoga, explains Iyengar.

Yoga is one among the six darshanas (philosophies), the other five being mimamsa, nyaya, vaisheshika, sankhya and vedanta. These darshanas are believed to remove the sorrow in one’s life. Yoga helps in directing the mind on a chosen focus without distraction, since the mind is thought to be both the source and solution of problems.

Recalling Krishnamachar’s feats, BNS Iyengar says that the guru had, through his yogic powers, once stopped his heart beat for three minutes, stunning the medical world. He had also offered to perform the feat of lying buried in mud for 70 hours, but the authorities refused him permission to do that. Iyengar says that yoga is a systematic, methodical, philosophical, traditional and classical knowledge and warns of ill effects if learnt and practised the wrong way. Thus, yoga, which was only in the realm of sacred masters in the Himalayas and spiritual ascetics, is now practiced by all kinds of people, helping them realise God. However, the million dollar question is, who is capable of taking forward Krishnamachar’s legacy?