The first question many people ask, is what kind if yoga does Frances do? This arises from the fact that today there are many “styles” of Yoga. Most of the styles of yoga arose from the a few students of one great scholar and Yogi- Krishnamacharya.  Two teachers you may be familiar with are Mr. Iyengar, and Pattahbi Jois, founder of Ashtanga Yoga. They were students of Krishnamacharya for 2-3 years, after which they were sent off to teach, and then continued on to become the popular teachers they are today.

tkv Desikachar, was a later student, and also Krishnamacharya’s son. He studied for thirty years with his father, and it is this lineage which Frances follows- she has practiced in this method for 5 years, and is currently studying with Rosemary Jean Antze in teacher development in this method. This yoga was once known as Viniyoga, and also vinyasa yoga, which reffers to the linking of breath with movement, and also the step by step progression of doing a yoga pose or a yoga practice.

 The teachers in this tradition have now moved away from a brand name of any kind, and simply call it yoga, or yoga in the style of Krishnamacharya and Desikachar. Because over his life Krishnamacharya adapted yoga to suit all ages, levels of ability, and health conditions, this embraces the many possibilities available. In this way, the yoga of every individual can be customized. With the central focus being breath, yoga teacher and student seek find a beginning point and move from there. The practice that arises from this depends on what the aims are, the age, physical fitness, lifestyle, and also the desires of the student. This is possible in a small group setting, but can be even more closely tailored when your teacher works privately with you.

Born in India in 1888, T. Krishnamacharya lived to be one hundred years old. He was a Yogi, a great Scholar, a linguist and a writer. It was largely due to his efforts that yoga was revived in the twentieth Century. If you are practicing yoga today, then it is most likely that it is a direct result of Krishnamacharyas efforts in re-popularizing Yoga.

Returning from seven years of intense study in Tibet, he became a teacher at the Maharaja’s palace in Myasore India. Here his students were mostly young boys,and so the vigorous practice of Yoga flow was born. As time progressed, various people of different ages were his students, and so he taught them a much gentler form of Yoga, adapting yoga to the needs of each student.

Later in his life after the repatriation of India, Krishnamacharya was very poor. At one point he even had to take another job. But he was discovered by westerners who were searching for eastern wisdom and healing, and he spent these later years working with people who were ill and needed greater adaptations of their practice. he became renowned as a great healer, and therapeutic yoga evolved. For more info please go to http://www.kym.org/ourteacher.html