Birth:
Bellur Krishnamacharya Sundararaja Iyengar (B.K.S. Iyengar) was born on December 14th, 1918 in the village of Bellur in the State of Karnataka, India.
Initiation into Yoga:
In June of 1935 at the age of 16 he was initiated into the sacred art of yoga by his brother-in-law Yogacharya T. Krishnamacharya.
First teaching assignment:
In 1936, his Guru, Yogacharya T. Krishnamacharya, gave him his first independent teaching assignment: to teach the families of the staff at Karnataka college.
Journey to the West:
In 1954, at the invitation of Yehudi Menuhin, Mr. Iyengar began to teach Yoga in the the West. Since then, the seed he planted has grown into a large tree and today "Iyengar yoga" is the most popular form of yoga practiced in the world.
Accolades:
1952-Swami Shivananda confers the title of "Yogi Raja"
1960- Appears on B.B.C.
1962-Yogacharya T. Krishnamacharya confers title of "Yoganga Shikshada Chakravarti"
1966- Audience with H.H. the Pope
1969- Iyengar Yoga becomes part of London Educational Authorities curriculum
1977- Silver Lotus Award from the government of India for the film "Samadhi" staring B.K.S. Iyengar
1981- Vishwa Yoga Sammelan confers the title "Yoga Ratna"
Famous students:
Yehudi Menuhin (violinist), Aldous Huxley (philosopher), J. Krishnamurthy (philosopher), Queen Mother of Belgium, Clifford Curzon (pianist)
A further history of BKS Iyengar can be found in "70 Glorious years" from which these facts were taken. You may also wish to read "Iyengar: his life and work."
