Leap of Faith
The essence of yoga is to integrate the body with the mind and the mind with the Self.This is a famous statement of yogacharya B.K.S Iyengar. Leap of Faith tells the life story of this renowned Indian yoga master, showing us that yoga is all about mental and physical balance. New and extensive footage is shown of the practices, teachings, interviews and daily life style of Iyengar. The film succesfully captures the essence of the man behind the phenomenon. The story is narrated by the actor and Iyengar yoga student Naseeruddin Shah.
About B.K.S. Iyengar
B.K.S. Iyengar was born in 1914 in India. He has been practicing and teaching yoga since his teenage years, when he was introduced to yoga by yogi Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. He is the founder of Iyengar Yoga. With Iyengar yoga classes being offered throughout the world, Iyengar is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world. The yogi has written numerous books, Light on Yoga (1966) being his first and most famous one. It became an international best-seller and succeeded in making yoga well known throughout the globe.
Scenes
B.K.S Iyengar: childhood and learning yoga
B.K.S. Iyengar was born in 1918. The childhood of Iyengar was very difficult. Due to his poor health, his family feared for his life. When he was sent to live with his older sister in Mysore, he got introduced to yoga by his brother in law, yogi Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. In 1936, he started teaching yoga.
Starting as a yoga teacher
This is an interview with B.K.S. Iyengar about his difficult starting period as a yoga teacher in Poona. He travelled a lot and trained to become a better teacher. This clip also shows yoga footage of this period.
Yehudi Menuhin introduced to yoga
When B.K.S. Iyengar was introduced to violinist Yehudi Menuhin, he showed him the basics of yoga. The musician was so impressed that he asked Iyengar to travel to England with him.
Yoga gaining popularity around the world
During the ’50’s, B.K.S. Iyengar travelled abroad a lot to demonstrate his yoga skills. This meant he was away from home a lot. In this clip we hear Iyengar himself as well as his daughter talk about this period. Iyengar met the Pope and practised yoga with queen Elisabeth of the Belgians.
Iyengar’s book ‘Light on Yoga’
B.K.S. Iyengar was asked to write a book about yoga. It took him 7 years to finish his first and most famous book ‘Light on yoga’.
Regaining health by practising yoga
When recovering from various incidents, B.K.S. Iyengar himself showed how to use yoga for self healing. Here, he talks about his road to recovery. Other people talk about their experience with illness, self healing and yoga.
Guruji Iyengar building schools
In this clip, we see images of B.K.S. Iyengar visiting the Ramamani Sundararaja Iyengar High School in Bellur. He stresses the importance of education. He also talks about the primary school he started in 1967.
Iyengar at the age of 90
Here, B.K.S. Iyengar talks about his life at the age of 90, and he’s still practising yoga on a daily basis. In this clip, the guruji offers an impressive image of the balance of body and mind.