A Documentary Film
Mysore Yoga Traditions
Made in Mysore, India, with the scholars, teachers, and elders of its yoga community.
How the Film Began
My first visit to Mysore was in 1990, and the city has changed a great deal since then.
The original idea was to make a film about my teacher, Śrī B.N.S. Iyengar, and his teachings. Just before his ninetieth birthday he reluctantly agreed. My friends Joey Paz, Dallos Paz, Bryce Delbridge, and Kelly O'Roke and I bought tickets and equipment and prepared for the trip.
At the last moment Guruji changed his mind. He did not want a film made about himself, and his answer was a flat no. We went to Mysore anyway. Film or no film, we all loved to practice with him.
Once there, we began looking for other people to interview. One afternoon I was taken to meet the principal of the Maharaja's Sanskrit College, who turned out to be a swami in orange robes. He was in the middle of a homa, a fire ceremony, and he asked me to pour ghee onto the fire. When I did, a small deity floating in a bowl of water moved toward him. It was hot, crowded, and chaotic, and I hardly understood what was happening.
The principal clapped his hand to his chest and said something in Sanskrit. On the strength of that omen we were given access, on the spot, to the college archives and to all of its professors.
Suddenly, by a mysterious twist of fate, everything opened, and it became possible to make a film we could never have made otherwise. Mysore Yoga Traditions was born.
It came about by the grace of our teacher, who had refused to be our only subject. When Guruji saw how far the scope of the film had widened, he was happy to give an interview, and we knew we had the footage for a very special glimpse into Mysore's yoga community.
Photographs by Santiago Pinto
We interviewed the Queen of Mysore, Her Highness Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, along with Śrī U.Ve. Prof. M.A. Lakshmithathacharya Swami, Dr. T.R.S. Sharma, Dr. M.A. Alwar, the head swami of the Ramakrishna Ashrama, and other prominent figures of Mysore. We knew we had a very special story to tell, and the idea that emerged was to let the people of Mysore tell their own story, in their own way.
The Focus
Yoga in Mysore, and how it reached the world
Mysore Yoga Traditions is a sincere inquiry into the social and political background of modern yoga.
A great deal of the postural yoga practiced around the world today traces back to Śrī T. Kṛṣṇamācārya. In 1931 he began teaching at the Maharaja's Sanskrit College in Mysore, and on 11 August 1933 his yogashala (yoga school) opened in the Jaganmohan Palace under the patronage of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV.
In the film, elders, scholars, yogis, and spiritual leaders of the Mysore community tell the story of yoga in their city. They speak about what yoga means to them, and about how they see its spread across the world.
For anyone who practices Ashtanga Yoga or a related style, it is an introduction to the culture and history behind the practice.
An Invitation
Begin with the film.
It lets you sit with people who have spent their lives studying and teaching this knowledge, and hear them speak for themselves. Watch it and see what you make of it.