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T. Krishnamacharya, the Father of Modern Yoga

T. Krishnamacharya, the Father of Modern Yoga

Sahil Thakur
1 day ago
5 min read

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888 to 1989) was an Indian yoga teacher who taught in the palace of Mysore in the 1930s and whose students went on to shape much of the yoga practised worldwide today. He is often called the "father of modern yoga," a phrase the Wellcome Collection credits to the yoga scholar Mark Singleton in his book Yoga Body, and it is a scholar's label, not an official title. Here is his story, with the parts historians still argue about marked plainly.

Key takeaways

  • Krishnamacharya lived from 1888 to 1989 and taught for most of the 20th century.

  • In the 1930s he taught in a wing of the Jaganmohan Palace in Mysore, with the support of the Maharaja.

  • His students included B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi and his son T.K.V. Desikachar.

  • Historians debate how much of his teaching came from ancient texts and how much from the physical culture of his day.

  • A key idea he is known for: yoga should be adapted to the person, the time and the place.

The story of a palace wing

Picture the 1930s in the city of Mysore. A royal palace, a ruler who cares about health and physical education, and a Sanskrit scholar with a strong posture and a firm voice. The ruler, Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, is said to have wanted young people to take yoga as seriously as the gymnasium next door.

According to the Wellcome Collection, Krishnamacharya was invited to teach at the Sanskrit school in Mysore in 1931. Two years later he was given a wing of the Jaganmohan Palace to run a yogashala, a yoga school. He worked under the Maharaja's direction, giving demonstrations around the university and across South India. Read the full account in Yoga adapts to time and place.

That setting helps explain why his teaching looked the way it did: energetic, rhythmic, designed to impress and to hold attention.

Who was he, and what do we really know?

Wellcome gives his life as 1888 to 1989 and says he was born into a Brahmin family in Karnataka. The exact birthplace and date vary by source.

What is well documented is the Mysore period. In 1935 he published Yoga Makaranda, a book on yoga practice. Singleton, a yoga scholar, describes how the Mysore years, more than anything else, shaped today's strongly physical yoga. Read his chapter, T. Krishnamacharya and the Mysore Asana Revival.

His famous students

  • K. Pattabhi Jois (1915 to 2009) developed Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

  • B.K.S. Iyengar (1918 to 2014), developed Iyengar yoga.

  • Indra Devi (1899 to 2002) is described by Wellcome as popularising yoga in America.

  • T.K.V. Desikachar, his son, helped spread his later, more individual approach. The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai was established in 1976 by Desikachar to carry on his father's teachings, according to its website: KYM, About.

Wellcome notes that Iyengar and Jois developed two very different styles from the same teacher. That is partly because Krishnamacharya adapted his teaching to each student. One student remembered he was "innovating all the time" for his pupils. Wellcome describes this constant adaptation as central to his approach.

The debates: a fair view

The lost text. Jois taught that his sequence came from an ancient palm-leaf text called the Yoga Korunta, which Krishnamacharya found. No copy is known to exist, and Krishnamacharya did not cite it in his own early writings. Yoga Journal's report, New Pieces of Yoga History, summarises this debate.

Gymnastics and physical culture. Scholar Norman Sjoman, in The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace, argues that Krishnamacharya's work drew on a gymnastics manual and the palace gymnasium, and on an older text called the Sritattvanidhi. Singleton places Mysore yoga within India's early-1900s physical-culture revival. Many of Krishnamacharya's students dispute or soften these claims. So the fair way to say it is "some historians argue." Sjoman's book is available here: The Yoga Tradition of the Mysore Palace.

Reverent biographies. Several biographies were written by devoted family members or students. They are valuable, but they are not neutral. We suggest reading them alongside the historians.

Why share this? Because the history makes the practice richer, not smaller. A yoga that was adapted, tested and rebuilt in the 20th century is still yoga. It simply isn't a single unbroken line from five thousand years ago.

What to take from his teaching

You can use his central idea in your own practice:

  1. Adapt the practice to the person. Same pose, different body.

  2. Adapt it to the day. Tired? Energetic? Pick the version that fits.

  3. Adapt it to the place. A short practice in a small room still counts.

A note about this post

This is history, not a claim about any method taught at Yogshala. We are telling the story because understanding where modern yoga comes from makes us better students and better teachers.

Safety: who should be careful

Some historical practices were strenuous and were not designed for everyone. If you try any posture or breath practice you read about, go gently and learn from a qualified teacher. If you have an injury or health condition, check with your teacher and a health professional first.

FAQ

Why is Krishnamacharya called the father of modern yoga?

Mainly because of his famous students and his role in developing the flowing, posture-based yoga of 1930s Mysore. Wellcome credits the phrase to Mark Singleton's Yoga Body, and it describes his influence, not an official title.

Did Krishnamacharya create Ashtanga yoga?

Jois taught that Krishnamacharya gave him the system. Historians debate how fixed it was in Krishnamacharya's own teaching, which varied from student to student.

Was Krishnamacharya the teacher of Iyengar and Jois?

Yes, both studied with him in Mysore, though in different ways and at different times.

Is the Yoga Korunta real?

No copy is known to exist. Whether it ever existed is debated.

Come practise with us

If you'd like to explore adaptable, beginner-friendly practice, message us at breathe@theyogshala.org or call 514-575-0009. And if you want to study yoga's history, anatomy and teaching in depth, our Yogshala 200-hour Hatha Teacher Training runs January 5 to April 18, 2027, in person in Montréal-Ouest and online. Certification is issued by Yogshala. Details are here.

Message us about the January training: the Yogshala 200-hour Hatha Teacher Training starts January 5, 2027.

With warmth,

Sahil

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