Yoga Teachers and Lineages

Key takeaways

  • Krishnamacharya taught Jois, Iyengar, Indra Devi, and Desikachar.

  • Each adapted his teaching differently.

  • The Ghosh lineage grew separately in Calcutta.

Who were the main teachers?

  • T. Krishnamacharya (1888-1989): Mysore, later Chennai. The teacher of the others. Author of Yoga Makaranda (1934).

  • K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009): Mysore. Ashtanga: fixed series, breath, and Mysore-style teaching.

  • B.K.S. Iyengar (1918-2014): Pune. Precise alignment and props. Author of Light on Yoga (1966). He was also Krishnamacharya's brother-in-law.

  • Indra Devi (1899-2002): the first foreign woman among Krishnamacharya's students. She taught in Hollywood.

  • T.K.V. Desikachar (1938-2016): Chennai. Viniyoga, practice adapted to the individual. Author of The Heart of Yoga (1995).

How do these lineages connect?

Krishnamacharya is the shared source. Jois emphasized fixed sequences and breath. Iyengar emphasized alignment and props. Desikachar emphasized adapting practice to the person.

What is Ghosh yoga?

Bishnu Charan Ghosh (1903-1970) was born in Lahore, the younger brother of Paramahansa Yogananda, author of Autobiography of a Yogi. He was a bodybuilder and hatha yogi. In 1923 he founded the College of Physical Education in Calcutta, today called Ghosh's Yoga College. His program combined physical culture with a set of yoga postures associated with his brother's teaching.

Bikram Choudhury, who built Bikram Yoga on Ghosh's teaching, claimed to have studied with him from a young age. Choudhury's later legal controversies are well documented. This page focuses on the teaching lineage.

Is Ghosh yoga connected to Krishnamacharya?

No. The Ghosh line grew separately in Calcutta. Both belong to the story of modern postural yoga.

Related: History of Ashtanga | Ayurveda and yoga | Back to the history of yoga

Sources

James Mallinson and Mark Singleton, Roots of Yoga (2017). James Mallinson, The Shiva Samhita: A Critical Edition (2007). Mark Singleton, Yoga Body (2010). Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar, Kamasutra. John Woodroffe, The Serpent Power (1919). T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga (1995).