BKS Iyengar’s legacy: Celebs who swear by Iyengar Yoga

The world mourns the death of one of India’s legendary yoga gurus, BKS Iyengar. The man put yoga on the international map, thanks to which several people, including renowned celebrities incorporated

By: Kriti Saraswat | | Updated: August 20, 2014 2:24 pm

The world mourns the death of one of India’s legendary yoga gurus, BKS Iyengar. The man put yoga on the international map, thanks to which several people, including renowned celebrities incorporated it in their daily lives. We take a look at some popular Indian and international celebs who owe their fit bodies to Iyengar Yoga.

Sachin Tendulkar

The legendary cricketer had tailor-made yoga exercises from the yoga legend himself. He often met BKS Iyengar to consult him about his injuries and ways of improving his fitness levels with yoga. Since 1998, Sachin started doing yoga and it helped him recover from several injuries. One such instance was when Sachin was advised to undergo a foot surgery, but after just 10 days of yoga, the doctor told him he no longer needed the surgery.

Kareena Kapoor

Her love for yoga as a way of life is not hidden from her fans and Kareena proudly flaunts her fit body in her movies, crediting it to yoga and a healthy diet. She’s not new to the various forms of yoga and loves the Iyengar form for the challenges it offers. Last year, the svelte actress announced to the media that she’s moved from power yoga to Iyengar Yoga in order to lose weight and look fit and fab in her item numbers.

Madonna

Queen of Pop, Madonna, is a freak when it comes to fitness. The singer loves trying new diets and fitness regimes and is also a fan of Iyengar yoga. In 2010, Madonna opened her chain of gyms called Hard Candy in Mexico and had a dedicated yoga room with a special wall similar to what is used in Iyengar Yoga and one of the very few in the world. It had ropes and steps to help even the less physically active people try this form of yoga.

Ryan Giggs

The former Manchester United footballer who was fit and fast on the field even in his late 30s, attributed yoga as his fitness mantra. He confessed that even though he was a fitness instructor for 10 years, he knew he could not carry on with it for the rest of his life, but yoga is something he can do for the rest of his life. Though he moved to other forms of yoga as he progressed with the fitness form, he started his journey with Iyengar Yoga learning from a trainer named Anne Richardson.

Queen of Belgium

Elisabeth, the Queen of Belgium was taught yoga by BKS Iyengar himself. The astounding thing is she was 85 when she started with the practice and the first thing she wanted to learn was a headstand from the yoga guru. Impressed with his training, the Queen gifted BKS Iyengar a bust of him which she sculpted herself. She passed away when she was 92 but bade farewell to her yoga guru by asking him to kiss her on her cheeks with tears rolling down her eyes.

Image source: Getty Images/http://www.bksiyengar.com/

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Published: August 20, 2014 1:12 pm | Updated:August 20, 2014 2:24 pm

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