Links to Related Resources & Longer Articles:

• Compendium of Quotes from TKV Desikachar on the Yoga of T Krishnamacharya……
• Physiological and psychological considerations around the practitioner’s starting point…
• Sound – A Means Beyond Āsana and Prāṇāyāma……
• YOGA AND MODERN MEDICINE – Interview by TKV Desikachar
• Yoga and the 21st Century – When we start Yoga, we begin to look at ourselves…

Collated Related Short Posts & Quotes:

“The ideal Dhyānam,
which becomes easier with practice,
requires certain preparations to reduce
the tendency of the mind to be distracted,
either by being jumpy and agitated, or dull and inert.
Chief among these preparations are proper diet and Prāṇāyāma.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 2

“The whole system functions on the strength of mind.
Mind is affected by what we eat.
‘Our mind is like our food‘.
Tapas is to discipline our eating habits.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1

“Diet has a great effect on Maitrī Bhāvana.”
– T Krishnamacharya commenting on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Three verse 23
cross referencing to Chapter One verse 33

“Tapas is Proper Diet, Mantra Chanting and Self-Inquiry.”
– T Krishnamacharya on Bhagavad Gītā Chapter Six verse 46

“Everything we see,
including the instrument of mind,
has three qualities or natures.
All matter has the three qualities.
In Saṃskṛta they are known as Guṇa.
In Sāṃkhya it is said that every problem
comes from the Guṇa and their interplay.
The effects can be based on what we see, eat, hear,
and the effects of what we see, eat, hear.
In Yoga one who has mastered themselves is one
who can produce whatever Guṇa is required.”
– TKV Desikachar on Sāṃkhya and Yoga

“Regarding Yama and Niyama, these days, he believes, they have no validity except for two of them.
First, what is called Satya Niyama, or what to speak, what not to speak, to whom to speak, how to write, what not to write. These are Satya Niyama.
Another Niyama that should be followed is Āhāra Niyama. That is, how much to eat and what to eat, according to age, profession, etc. You see, the ancient people believed that a young boy could eat as much as he liked. But a Saṃnyāsi should only eat eight handfuls of rice, no more, per day.”
– TKV Desikachar from lectures on ‘The Yoga of T Krishnamacharya’, given at Zinal, Switzerland 1981.

“In Āyurveda, it gives certain behaviour by which we can stay well.
If a person follows the following he will freer of sickness.
Regularly, systematically he eats, rests and exercises adequately.
Both in amount and quality.
Food or Āhāra, along with Vihāra – recreation, rest, exercise, other activities.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983

Question to TKV Desikachar:
How rigorous should we be in the practice of Tapas?
“Tapas is not the rejection of everything around us.
In the Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 1,
Tapas means to be able to discipline oneself.
So if you are too fat eat less.
If you are too thin eat more.
Tapas which harms the mind should be rejected.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras December 21st 1988

“Fasting is the best medicine,
for as the Taittirīyra Upaniṣad says,
food will nourish you or consume you.
But there is fasting and fasting.
There is no better Tapas
than a well regulated diet.”
– From interviews with T Krishnamacharya by Sarah Dars,
published in Viniyoga Review no 24, December 1989

“Question: What were his favourite foods?
Response: You might be surprised that he relished good food. He was from Andhra and so, relished food that was hot and spicy. He was very fond of sweets and would eat them in great quantities. With all this he would always have ghee. Ghee formed a very important part of his diet and whatever the food, it would be accompanied with large quantities of ghee. Of course, he was also doing Āsana for three to four hours daily in addition to his Prāṇāyāma. His practice was extremely rigorous and that may account for his being able to handle these large quantities of spicy and sweet foods.”
– TKV Desikachar answering questions on T Krishnamacharya

“Within the teachings of T Krishnamacharya,
as transmitted to TKV Desikachar,
the role of Śavāsana within an Āsana practice was as
a transitional link pose between categories of Āsana.
For example between Standing and Lying Āsana,
or Lying and Inverted Āsana,
or Inverted and Prone Backbends,
or Prone Backbends and Seated Āsana,
or Seated Āsana and Sitting Practices.
The extent of its use and length of rest at each stage,
when transiting from one category to another within our
Āsana practice journey, was dependent on the facility
of the practitioner and the intensity of the practice.
Within this individualised variance is the guiding
principle that the role of Śavāsana is to facilitate a
smooth transition for the flow of the breath and also
the pulse through and beyond the Āsana practice,
as a marker for the practitioner’s state of mind.
However according to Desikachar the Viniyoga of
Śavāsana was seen in terms of recovery from the
fatigue of the preceding aspect of the practice rather,
than say recovery from the preceding aspects of one’s life.
Regarding the approach for the recovery
from the preceding aspects of one’s life,
amongst other things such as Āhāra and Vihāra,
the wider purpose, content, duration and frequency
of the Āsana practice must be carefully reconsidered.”
– 108 Postural Practice Pointers

“According to T Krishnamacharya,
we must consider the effects of food on
the state of the mind as well as the body.
In that, he saw food as something which
can nourish you or, that which can eat you.
Interestingly, Haṭha Yoga texts also talk of
the need to examine and refine our eating
habits before we begin taking up Prāṇāyāma,
rather than before we begin practicing Āsana.
Thus, it is a triangle of food, breath and mind.
So, seemingly it is not enough to just hold the
nose and do Nāḍī Śodhana without considering
the influence of Āhāra on the long-term outcome.”
– 108 Prāṇāyāma Practice Pointers

“Our relationship with Food can be too little, too much, or wrong.
According to Āyurveda, even the best food eaten in the wrong amount,
or at the wrong time, or with the wrong attitude
will fail to nourish and even disturb the system.
The same could also be said for Yoga Practice”
– 108 Yoga Study Path Pointers