19/11/2025
The ancient hatha yoga texts themselves are neither detailed nor complete. It is the living tradition that has always been the key to learning and practicing yoga. On Sri Krishnamacharya’s 137th birth anniversary, here are five key principles for yoga practice drawn from his wisdom:
1. Yoga should be personalized for the individual. Whenever we asked him what to teach a student, he would always ask in return, “Who is the person? What is their situation?” No practice is ideal for everyone at all times. We must honor the principles of krama and vinyasa: individualized progression and appropriate balance in practice.
2. Do not push or use force in asana. It will not yield the desired results. Asana is a pathway to inner stillness; it should not cause pain.
3. Do asana with slow, deep breathing. The breath is central to wellbeing and is the key to progress in classical hatha yoga.
4. Include nadishodhana pranayama with subtle breathing as part of your regular routine. End asana sequences with pranayama whenever possible. When asana is balanced and the breathing is steady, it naturally prepares the ground for pranayama.
5. Prioritize the yamas (values), but accommodate the belief systems of the student while teaching. Without this, transformation cannot take root as the student will be unable to relate fully to the practice.
Only on these foundations can the deeper practices of hatha yoga be accessed
effectively.
In Sri Krishnamacharya’s devotional tradition, there is an idea that a student should continue to prostrate before the guru until he says to stop! Of course, he never expected this. Yet as a family, we can say with certainty that no number of
prostrations would be sufficient to express our gratitude for the gift of his teachings of yoga
… eternal greatful for the knowledge and guiding power behind the sankalp yoga shala
