{"id":5167,"date":"2014-08-26T07:30:58","date_gmt":"2014-08-26T12:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/worldreligions\/?p=5167"},"modified":"2014-09-01T08:38:00","modified_gmt":"2014-09-01T13:38:00","slug":"yogi-to-the-stars-dies-should-western-yoga-die-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/worldreligions\/2014\/08\/yogi-to-the-stars-dies-should-western-yoga-die-too.html","title":{"rendered":"Yogi to the Stars Dies: Should Western Yoga Die Too"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"B.K.S.<\/a>
B.K.S. Iyengar, from Yoga Photo Gallery<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

B.K.S.\u00a0Iyengar died last week. \u00a0He was 95.<\/p>\n

He was the Hindu yogi who helped popularize yoga in the West. He taught\u00a0some of the greatest stars of the\u00a020th century, including \u00a0the writer Aldous Huxley, designer Donna Karan, actress Annette Benning, \u00a0and Bollywood star, Kareena Kapoor, to name just a few.<\/p>\n

According to the New York Times<\/a>, \u201cMr. Iyengar\u2019s practice is characterized by long asanas, or postures, that require extraordinary will and discipline. A reporter who watched daily practice in 2002 when Mr. Iyengar was 83, said that he held one headstand for six minutes, swiveling his legs to the right and the left\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

But was\u00a0Mr. Iyengar\u2019s yoga too much about posture and not enough about spirituality?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the charge many Hindus are making, according to the Washington Post<\/a>. \u00a0For example, the Hindu American organization started a campaign in 201o called \u201cTake back Yoga.\u201d \u00a0They told the Post that they think yoga has been\u00a0\u201cpurposefully delinked\u2026 from its roots in Hinduism.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an interesting argument. Is western yoga more concerned with posture and health instead of spirituality?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a clip from PBS Religion & Ethics about Iyengar from 2006.<\/p>\n