Light on Yoga - Day 4

Yehudi Menuhin wrote the foreward for Light on Life. Mr. Menuhin at that time was a world famous violinist who was born in America but played mostly in Britain.  On a trip to play in India he inquired about yoga from something he had read in a book as he was experiencing some health issues.  It was through this curiosity he eventually met Mr. Iyengar and was transformed.  He would often call Mr. Iyengar his "best violin teacher" and led to a long friendship and really the start of Mr. Iyengar's spread of yoga to the West.

A notable quote from the introduction is, " Yoga, as practiced by Mr. Iyengar, is the dedicated votive offering of a man who brings himself to the alter, alone and clean in body and mind, focused in attention and will, offering in simplicity and innocence not a burnt sacrifice, but simply himself raised to his own highest potential."

Menuhin also says about yoga, "It is a technique ideally suited to prevent physical and mental illness and to protect the body generally, developing an inevitable sense of self-reliance and assurance.  By its very nature it is inextricably associated with universal laws: for respect for life, truth, and patience are all indispensable factors in the drawing of a quiet breath, in calmness of mind and firmness of will."

In the article Mr. Iyengar wrote, "Light on Light on Yoga", he says about Menuhin writing the foreward that "I consider as a great tribute to the art of yoga by the artist of the century."


You can find out more about this interesting man by visiting: http://www.menuhin.org/

                              

Namaste.
Pamela Nelson
www.plnyoga.BlogSpot.com