Google doodler Kevin Laughlin created three different animated doodles to mark yoga guru BKS Iyengar’s 97th Birthday. A few of Iyengar's asanas have been used to complete the Google doodles in honour of the man who helped popularise yoga around the world.
Iyengar, easily recognisable by his bushy eyebrows and silvery locks of shoulder-length hair, practiced yoga until two months before he died in August 2014, and even did headstands in his 90s.
You can see the different doodles on refreshing the Google home page or see the yoga guru performing his asanas in the animated GIFs embedded below:
Born in a poor family in Bellur (Karnataka) on December 14, 1918, Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar was a sickly child who suffered multiple illnesses including typhoid and tuberculosis. When he was 15, a relative introduced him to yoga in an attempt to build his resistance to disease. By the time he was 18, he moved to Pune to practice yoga and to teach its techniques to others.
Iyengar created his own brand of yoga, called "Iyengar yoga," and established studios in 72 countries where yoga practitioners are taught ways to improve breathing, concentration and meditation. He also wrote 14 books on the subject.
By the mid-1950's word of Iyengar yoga spread in Europe, where he began teaching many new converts, including violinist Yehudi Menuhin and author Aldous Huxley. The popularity of Iyengar yoga spurred him to write a book called Light on Yoga, explaining the 216 yoga postures that formed what he called the science and art of yoga. The book became a global best seller with more than 3 million copies sold and has since been translated into 17 languages.
The BKS Iyengar's 97th birthday is also being displayed on Google home pages in a number of countries around the world (See map below).
Reach of the BKS Iyengar Google doodle
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