R. Sriram
R. Sriram, hailing from Madras (Chennai today) has, for four decades, been a student of Sri T.K.V.Desikachar, under whose guidance he taught Yoga for several years at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Madras. During this period he had the good fortune of a little learning contact with Sri T.Krishnamacharya too.
R. Sriram is married to the dancer and writer Anjali Sriram, they live partly in India (Tamilnadu) and partly in Germany (Odenwald), spending time in-between with their son in London.
R. Sriram conducts workshops and seminars, writes books and gives master classes for Yoga Teachers, in all of which the interpretation and use of the Yoga-philosophy plays the central role. He also trains teachers in the therapeutic usage of Yoga and gives consultations in tandem with the teachers he trains. He teaches Vedic Chanting and Mantras as keys to meditation, the triad of breath, south and mind being a vital subject in his own practice. In 2023 Sriram brought out his first publication in English, along with Anjali – Natyayoga, a book which delves into the role of emotions in understanding the Self.
Influences and teacher
Sri T. Krishnamacharya is an amazing Yoga personality of our times.
He taught Yoga to a wide variety of people during his 101 years of life:
Maharajas, children, women. simple people with illnesses, great personalities of his times, Europeans and some of the most renowned yoga teachers in the world, like Sri T.K.V. Desikachar, Sri T.K. Bhashyam, Sri Pattabhi Jois, Sri B.K.S. Iyengar und Srimati Indira Devi.
Sri T. Krishnamacharya adapted Yoga brilliantly and very fittingly to the changing needs and life-styles of our times. His own strength and physical control were legendary. But he was first and foremost a versatile scholar in several systems of Indian philosophy. His interpretations and rhetoric skills were so highly respected, that big scholars of his time stood in awe of his profound knowledge and understanding. Most of all however, for the innumerable people who learned from him in his last 30 years in Madras, he remains the compassionate healer, who helped them regain health with Yoga, medicine and words.
Sri T.K.V. Desikachar is well-known all over the world as the teacher of yoga teachers.
We owe the fact that today we have well-structured and respected yoga centers, where thousands of people learn yoga and thousands more with various illnesses find a healing path, to his vision and tireless efforts, ever since the seventies.
The deep respect he had for yoga, the way he spoke about his father and teacher, Sri T. Krishnamacharya, the way he used yoga techniques as a remedy for the sick and the way he interacted with students, friends and acquaintances made him an exceptionally admirable and lovable person.
He conveyed the need for professionalism in yoga teachers like no other master, both through his own example and through his teaching. I owe all my knowledge of yoga to Sri T.K.V. Desikachar. He passed away in 2016.