Tirumalai Krishnamacharya was a scholar, healer, yogi, and author among many other things. He is known for reviving yoga in the early twentieth century but was able to maintain many of the ancient wisdom and lost teachings. Krishnamacharya took a holistic approach to yoga and healing. He believed in a customized approach for teaching each individual based on there specific needs and ability at that point in time.

The yoga we experience today was deeply influenced by Krishnamacharya through his students such as K. Pattabhi Jois and BKS Iyengar. They taught from their own experiences under  Krishnamacharya in the 1930s. Their styles of yoga emphasise asana practice and tend to be more physical, such as Ashtanga. Other respected teachers such as T.K.V. Desikachar, A.G. Mohan and Srivatsa Ramaswami go beyond asana practice of Krishnamacharya's teachings, and use his holistic methodology to customize the approach to each student by assessing thier health, energy, physique, gender, place and age.

What resonated with me the most was that Krishnamacharya also reached out to his students by getting to know their native tongue and their religion. By doing so, he was able to make deeper connections and build trust. After we reviewed the 8 limbs of yoga philosophy in teacher training I had a conversation with my sister that had caused some internal conflict for me. She lives in a small town and is a devoted christian believer. I also have christian roots but am open and tolerant of other belief systems. My sister had implied that yoga was dangerous because it was at least in her mind, a pagan religion. However, after learning more about Krishnamacharya and his teaching methods I now believe that yoga is more of a philosophy that can be applied to each individual regardless of religious orientation. In fact I believe that spiritual mind-body connection resulting from a yogic way of life can enhance any existing divine relationship between the individual and their creator.