Robert Birnberg ~ Christine Dormaier ~ Fran Ubertini

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888-1989), South Indian master of yoga, esteemed scholar, and Ayurvedic physician, is widely regarded as the "father of modern yoga." A brilliant teacher, he taught what he learned through his life of study to his son, T. K. V. Desikachar. A highly skilled yoga therapist and teacher himself, Desikachar refined and disseminated his father's teachings to Westerners, yet few students of yoga today are aware of the breadth and beauty of the Krishnamacharya tradition. 

 

The aim of Why Yoga Works & How It Can Work For You is to deepen understanding of yoga's principles and how to apply them to one's personal practice through the lens of the Krishnamacharya - Desikachar teaching tradition. The authors have taken on an ambitious task. The result is a clearly written, concise, and practically oriented introduction to the fundamentals of this approach. 

 

Early on, the authors highlight the transformative impact that seminar study with Desikachar and individual mentoring with his long-term students has had on their work as yoga teachers and yoga therapists. Their enthusiasm for the Krishnamacharya tradition is contagious, and they reach out to a broad audience of students with varying levels of yoga experience. 

 

Reading this book, I was reminded of a quote attributed to Albert Einstein: "Out of complexity, find simplicity!" Part 1, Why Yoga Works, contains brief sections on the hallmarks of Krishnamacharya's approach and the philosophical perspectives fundamental to his teaching tradition. The authors use short case examples to illustrate the potential for yoga teachings to change lifestyle and perspective. They have done an effective job summarizing and providing understandable examples of basic concepts, although the section would have been strengthened by references to source texts and resources to guide students' deeper exploration of yoga philosophy. 

 

Part 2 includes chapters about the classification of asana, breath and movement, pranayama technique, mantra, sound, and meditation. Although the reader may hear strong echoes of Desikachar's words in Part 2, the only direct acknowledgment of his work is a quotation preceding this section. 

 

The content of Part 2 will be familiar to students who have studied this teaching tradition. Careful attention is paid to how the specific aim of a practice guides the selection and sequencing of yoga techniques. Practice sequences are depicted and explained concisely by a "why we did what we did" section in table format. The sequencing sections will be particularly useful to yoga teachers and educators of yoga teachers. 

 

The chapters on meditation and sound make a strong contribution to our understanding of how to select meditation strategies and prepare body, mind, and breath for meditation practices. Having introduced students to the Krishnamacharya teaching tradition, the authors conclude with comments about the importance of cultivating a one-to-one relationship with a teacher. Yoga students are left to consider the practicalities of finding a suitable teacher to guide their personal development. 

 

This book contains useful information for yoga students working with a teacher trained in a Krishnamacharya/Desikachar approach and for educators of teachers in this tradition. The absence of references to the work of Krishnamacharya, Desikachar, and their senior students (as primary sources or suggestions for future study), however, limits its usefulness for practicing yoga therapists and educators of yoga therapists. For the former, the book will introduce the approach and may provide inspiration to explore the tradition's systematic and nuanced approach to yoga therapy. 

 

Clare Collins, PhD, RN, C-IAYT, is a practicing yoga therapist, long-term student in the Krishnamacharya tradition, and Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University. She has served as a member of IAIT's board of directors and its standards and certification committees.