Every year on June 21, International Yoga Day 2024 is a global celebration of yoga, an age-old Indian discipline that dates back 5000 years. Through their practice, yogis inspire others and lead austere lifestyles. Yoga assists people in enhancing consciousness, bringing their mind and body into harmony, and releasing themselves from pain. The globe was first exposed to yoga by Indian yoga masters. This article examines well-known yoga instructors, female yoga instructors in India, and well-known Indian yoga teachers. The spiritual advancement of mankind is emphasised by the contributions of famous yogis on Yoga Day in 2024.

Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda, a Famous Yogi and the chief disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa promoted interfaith understanding and brought the Indian ideas of yoga and Vedanta to the West. He established both the Ramakrishna Mission and the Ramakrishna Math. “Sisters and brothers of America,” he opened his 1893 speech at the Parliament of the Global’s Religions in Chicago, officially recognising Hinduism as one of the main global religions. National Youth Day is observed on his birthday.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

The Divine Life Society (DLS) was established in 1936 by Swami Sivananda Saraswati, a physician and yoga instructor originally from Tamil Nadu. The Yoga-Vedanta Forest Academy was established in 1948. He blended the practices of raja, jnana, bhakti, and karma yoga. To achieve self-realization via yoga and meditation, he relocated to Rishikesh at the age of 40.

Later on, he founded the Sivananda Ashram, which is named after him. Through his lectures on Raja, Jnana, Bhakti, and Karma yoga, Saraswati popularised yoga in the West. His teachings, which incorporate meditation, asana, pranayama, and spiritual practice, emphasise a holistic approach. Sivananda Yoga Teaching is now offered at many yoga institutions throughout the globe.

Tirumalai Krishnamacharya

The “Father of Modern Yoga,” Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, was an Indian yoga master and Ayurvedic scholar who brought Hatha Yoga back to life. He created the Vinyasa Krama Yogic method, fusing movement and breath to create a classic Hatha yoga form. He was born in Karnataka in 1888. His pupils went on to become well-known yoga instructors, and his teachings were founded on the Patanjali Yoga Sutra.

The basis for Krishnamacharya’s contribution to the resurgence of Hatha Yoga and the development of contemporary Yoga was established by his extensive understanding of Yoga, Ayurveda, and Sanskrit. He founded a yoga school at Mysore Palace and served as a mentor to well-known yoga gurus, helping them to build their unique types of yoga.

Paramahansa Yogananda

By introducing millions of people to Kriya Yoga and meditation, Paramahansa Yogananda, a follower of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, helped to reconcile Eastern and Western faiths. Because of his impact on the American Yoga Movement, especially in Los Angeles, he is referred to as the Father of Yoga in the West. His book, “Autobiography of a Yogi,” has transformed millions of lives worldwide. He was a proponent of the “plain living and high thinking” philosophy. His teachings continue to inspire people to go on spiritual journeys, including Steve Jobs, and have a profound impact on yoga practitioners and seekers worldwide.

K. Pattabhi Jois

The Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga style, which synchronises breath and movement, gained popularity thanks to Indian yoga instructor K. Pattabhi Jois. It is a dynamic and potent approach. His guru, T. Krishnamacharya, taught him this, and he committed the rest of his life to learning and applying it. He founded the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in 1948 in Mysore, India, and it grew to become a centre for Ashtanga Yoga research and instruction. Stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, and Sting were among his pupils. Although Jois died in 2009, his influence as the founder of Ashtanga Yoga lives on and continues to mentor students all over the world.

R. Sharath Jois

K. Pattabhi Jois’s grandson is the current master of the Ashtanga Yoga lineage in India, R. Sharath Jois. Since he was a little child, he has devoted his life to upholding and spreading the Ashtanga Yoga tradition. Following years of intense training, Sharath started working with his grandpa as a teacher at the Ashtanga Yoga Institute. When Pattabhi Jois was unable to continue teaching in 2007, Sharath took over as the institute’s director.

The KPJAYI, formerly known as the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute, was the new location of Jois’s yoga school in 2019, which her mother dubbed the KPJAYI. The S.Y.C. flourishes under his direction and draws yoga practitioners from all over the world who want to study Ashtanga Yoga directly from the source.

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

Born in 1918, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is credited with creating the Transcendental Meditation method, sometimes referred to as “His Holiness.” Because of his propensity for laughing during TV appearances, he was also known as the “Giggling Guru.” Celebrities such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys turned to Maharishi as a spiritual guide, and he promoted research demonstrating the positive effects of yoga and meditation on the brain.

The method, a straightforward, organic, and uncomplicated meditation practice, has been thoroughly researched for its positive effects on both mental and physical health. Millions of people all around the world have been impacted by Maharishi’s teachings, and Transcendental Meditation is now practised in more than 100 nations.

B. K. S. Iyengar

Iyengar Yoga was established by the renowned yoga teacher B.K.S. Iyengar, who placed a strong emphasis on accuracy, alignment, and the use of support for proper asana practice. “Light on Yoga,” his debut book, went on to become a worldwide success and is referred to as the “bible of yoga.” He established the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India, in 1975, and it has since grown to become a premier hub for yoga research and instruction. Iyengar’s teachings have become well-known around the world, and in 2004 Time Magazine listed him among the top 100 most important individuals on the planet.

Sadhguru

Founder of the Isha Foundation in 1992, Jagdish Vasudev, popularly known as Sadhguru, is a well-known Indian yoga instructor and spiritual guide. Along with being a yoga instructor since 1982, he is also a published author, most notably of the critically praised book “Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny.” Sadhguru’s teachings are centred on enabling people to use yoga and meditation to reach their greatest potential.

His work, “Inner Engineering,” is highly regarded for its scientific depth and applicability to contemporary society. Sadhguru’s services to social welfare earned him the 2017 Padma Vibhushan award. His online and in-person yoga classes are offered by several yoga centres throughout the globe.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The founder of the Art of Living Foundation and a spiritual guide, Ravi Shankar is sometimes referred to as Sri Sri. He thinks that a person’s spiritual connection to another person is more significant than their gender, ethnicity, religion, or other attributes. Shankar says that reality is round and paradoxical, and he wants to establish a society devoid of tension and violence.

In addition, he is the originator of Sudarshan Kriya, a stress-reduction and general health-enhancing breathing method. Millions of people all around the world have been inspired by his teachings, and his foundation has greatly contributed to the acceptance of yoga as a means of social and personal change.

Baba Ramdev

Renowned Indian yoga master Baba Ramdev, also called Ramkrishna Yadav, is well-known for instructing asanas and pranayamas at his Patanjali Yogapeeth institution. Ramdev was a major force behind the resurgence of yoga and Ayurveda in India, and he has centres in the country as well as the US, UK, Canada, Nepal, and Mauritius.

He promoted traditional Hatha Yoga practices and placed a strong emphasis on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, popularising yoga through television shows and online courses. In addition to providing yoga instruction, teacher training programmes, and research on Ayurvedic and yoga medicine, Ramdev developed Patanjali Yogpeeth.

Conclusion

The goal of Yoga Day 2024 is to encourage everyone’s physical and mental health, irrespective of location, age, gender, or ethnicity. The theme pays tribute to Indian yoga masters who popularised yoga in the West, promoted interfaith understanding, and introduced various yoga styles, such as Swami Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda Saraswati, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, Paramahansa Yogananda, K. Pattabhi Jois, R. Sharath Jois, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, B.K.S. Iyengar, and Sadhguru.