Desikachar and Viniyoga

Another of Krishnamacharya’s students was his son T. K. V. Desikachar, who studied with his father for twenty-nine years, learning religious rituals, all aspects of yoga, and the traditional branches of Indian philosophy.

Viniyoga (which could be translated as ‘applied yoga’) aims to tailor particular practices of yoga to suit individual needs. The main branches of the school are in Chennai and California.

In general, besides the teaching of asanas, bandhas, and pranayama, there is more practice of chanting and devotional rituals in Viniyoga than in the other schools in the lineage of Krishnamacharya.

Owing to the occasional misinterpretation of the name ‘Viniyoga’, Desikachar suggested the renaming of his system. In Britain, since 2004, the Viniyoga school has been called the Association for Yoga Studies.

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