B.K.S. Iyengar (b. 1918) is a yoga master and innovator who has rightly been credited with popularizing yoga in the west by virtue of his teaching method and books. Light on Yoga, first published in 1966, describes and illustrates hundreds of yoga poses and many breathing techniques. The photographs and instructions in Light on Yoga have become the standard, particularly with regard to alignment.
Light on Life
Iyengar’s most recent book is titled Light on Life (Rodale 2005). With this book, Iyengar intends to shed the same light on the spiritual and mental aspects of yoga as he did on the physical aspects in Light on Yoga many years ago. Subtitled The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom, Light on Life promises to deliver the wealth of spiritual wisdom that Iyengar has distilled over his lifetime of practicing and teaching yoga.
Light on Life will certainly become essential reading for those wishing to take their yoga practice beyond the performance of asanas. Written in an appealing conversational tone, sitting down with the book has the feeling of sitting at the feet of a yoga master and receiving his wisdom. It also has the same wandering style and tangents you would expect from such an experience, but these in no way distract from the pleasure of the feeling of receiving access to Iyengar’s mind.
