Why Yoga Works For Sport: Mr BKS Iyengar, His Book Yoga For Sports And His Props

Why did India’s cricket board publish a yoga book for its players? Because a yoga teacher in Pune had spent years working with sportspeople, and his method fitted what players need: even work on both sides, precision, and props that let a stiff body get it right.

Iyengar yoga for sports: the short answer

Iyengar yoga for sports is the method Mr BKS Iyengar set out in his book Yoga For Sports, written for players and coaches. It balances the overused and underused sides of a one-sided sport, uses props so stiff athletes can hold the right shape, and adds yogic breathing to steady the mind before and after play.

This page follows in short form:

• Who he was: a 20th-century teacher who set down traditional Indian yoga.
• His sport book: compiled with the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
• His core idea: sport is one sided, and yoga evens the body out.
• Props: the wall was his first, then belts, chairs and bolsters.
• His family: Geeta and Prashant taught beside him; Abhijata teaches in Pune now.
• Australian cricket: Justin Langer visited Mr Iyengar in Pune in 2004.
• Regular practice: the players with the strongest stories did a lot of it.

Who was Mr BKS Iyengar?

Mr BKS Iyengar (1918 to 2014) was the major figure who codified traditional Indian yoga in the 20th century, through a number of seminal books and widespread teaching. He practised and taught for more than 70 years in Pune, India, and trained many teachers. He pioneered the use of props and many other techniques to make yoga work more effectively. His style is sometimes called modern classical yoga. It is the style Flametree teaches, in Darwin and live online.

His first book, Light on Yoga (first published 1966), is still a standard guide to the poses. His words are collected and explained on our BKS Iyengar quotes page.

He taught three generations of his own family:

• Geeta S. Iyengar (1944 to 2018), his daughter, trained with him from childhood, taught beside him for decades at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, and wrote Yoga: A Gem for Women. She is credited in Yoga For Sports.
• Prashant S. Iyengar, his son, also taught beside him and still teaches in Pune.
• Abhijata Iyengar, of the next generation, teaches in Pune too.

What is the book Yoga For Sports?

Yoga For Sports: A Journey Towards Health and Healing (B.K.S. Iyengar, 2015) is Mr Iyengar’s guide for sportspeople. It was compiled and edited by Rajvi H. Mehta. The pose photographs were taken at India’s National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, with cricketers and a hockey player among the models. In July 2004, India’s cricket board was reported to have approved a cricket-specific yoga workbook by Mr Iyengar (PTI, 19 July 2004, as printed in the book).

The book opens with a foreword by Andrew Leipus, physiotherapist to the Indian cricket team from 1999 to 2004. He writes that, through trial and error and long discussions with experts such as Mr Iyengar, traditional yoga techniques were adapted for cricket. He notes that it needs no expensive equipment and can be done in the gym or the dressing room, as a warm-up, a recovery technique, or a way to refresh the mind in breaks (Kindle loc 17, our summary).

The preface is by Indian cricket writer Ayaz Memon. He lists what athletes need: poise, speed, balance, quick reflexes, focus and calm. And he makes the point that “physical prowess alone cannot help here” (Kindle loc 38). The mind has to be engaged too.

Kindle location numbers are from the Kindle edition read for Flametree (ASIN B019INQK08).

Why does yoga suit a one-sided sport?

Because most sports use one side of the body far more than the other. A batter turns the same way thousands of times. A bowler lands on the same front foot. A kicker kicks with the same leg.

Mr Iyengar’s introduction calls yoga both a science and an art. As a science, it aligns the right and left sides, the arms, legs and trunk, the muscles, joints and ligaments. As an art, it builds intuition and creativity. His summing up: “the practice of yoga converts talent into genius” (Kindle loc 69).

He also gives a plain example of imbalance. Weight training builds the big muscles at the front of the thigh (the quadriceps) at the cost of the hamstrings behind, which shorten and are more likely to pull. In his view, awareness frees every joint of that resistance.

In class, that means: we work both sides evenly, and spend a little longer on the side that needs it. Geeta Iyengar put it simply: let your stronger side teach your weaker side.

What does the book say about common complaints of sportspeople?

Its key idea is that small niggles come before big ones. The book describes four stages of a problem from yoga philosophy: dormant, weakened, coming and going, and fully active. The body sends small signals, an ache here, a tight spot there, long before a serious problem. Players tend to ignore them, often for fear of losing their place in the team.

The book’s chapter on common complaints goes area by area: stiffness in the back, strain in the hips and buttocks (with fast bowlers as its example), hardness in the hamstrings and groins, knee pain, shoulder tightness in overhead sports, and plain exhaustion. For each, it gives poses, mostly with props.

These are Mr Iyengar’s teaching, known from long practice with players. They are the first of our three ways of knowing. The good news: in trials, cricketers and volleyball players who added yoga gained flexibility and balance (see the box below).

What does the book suggest on match day?

Short, simple practice, timed around the game. The chapter on yoga practice during matches gives:

• Morning breathing. About 15 minutes of pranayama (yogic breathing) for the whole team, mainly Ocean Breath (Ujjayi) lying down, to start the day calm and alert.
• A 10 to 15 minute warm-up. Mountain Pose (Tadasana), arms up, Chair Pose (Utkatasana), Standing Forward Fold (Uttanasana) and Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana).
• While waiting to bat or come on. Sit facing the back of a chair so the lower back stays alert, rather than slouching for hours.
• Quick poses at a break or on the field. Wide Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), Revolved Triangle Pose (Parivrtta Trikonasana) and Standing Forward Fold, for a few seconds or a few minutes.
• At the end of the day. Hero Pose (Virasana), supported Bridge Pose and Legs Up The Wall (Viparita Karani), then slow breathing to settle the mind before sleep.

The book’s own claims about cooling, cramps and recovery are Mr Iyengar’s views, not trial results, so we describe them as his teaching.

What does the book say about overtraining?

It suggests supported, quiet poses as active rest, rather than doing nothing. The book describes a player who trains harder and harder while performance slips. Its suggestion is a set of fully supported poses, each held 7 to 10 minutes, to rest the body and quieten an anxious mind: a supported forward bend over a table, Downward Facing Dog with the head on a bolster, Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana) and supported Shoulderstand on a chair.

We use poses like these in our restorative work. We do not repeat the book’s stronger claims about curing overtraining.

Is there anything for sportswomen?

Yes, a chapter called “Special Hints for Sportswomen”. Its most useful part applies to everyone: five things to notice in any pose, to practise with skill rather than just going through the motions.

1. Contact: how much of the foot or leg touches the floor, and is it the same on both sides?
2. Weight: is it falling onto the front of the foot, or spread evenly front and back?
3. Alignment: do the foot, knee and thigh turn together, or only part of the leg?
4. Sensation: is the inner side of the arm or leg as awake as the outer side?
5. Breath: is it smooth, soft and quiet? If not, adjust the pose.

The chapter also suggests supported poses before a game and forehead-rested forward bends to cool down after a long day in the sun, which suits Darwin. More is on our women’s sport page.

Why do props help athletes?

Props let a stiff, strong body get the right shape, and stay in it long enough to learn. Geeta Iyengar told the story of where they came from. Mr Iyengar’s first prop was the wall: a slipping foot spoils a pose, so he put his foot against the wall, and the wall also showed him if he was leaning forward or back. In her words, “His practice gave shape to the props.”

She was clear that props are not for lazy resting and not cheating. They show you where you are blocked and let you feel the correct pose from the inside, so you can later find it on your own. That is why a footballer who cannot touch his toes can still do a useful hamstring pose with a belt. More on blocks, belts and bolsters in Yoga Equipment For Home.

Which sportspeople does the book report?

Part IV of the book reprints press reports of players and coaches, each with its source and date. We report them as they were reported at the time. None of them endorses Flametree.

• Sachin Tendulkar, cricket: first came to Mr Iyengar in 1999 for a backache (DNA, 21 August 2014).
• India’s cricket squad, 2004: an hour of yoga daily at the Bangalore conditioning camp (PTI, 19 August 2004).
• Australian Test team, 2004: took a yoga teacher on tour in India for the first time (Australian Yoga Life, issue 11, 2005).
• Niall Quinn, soccer, Sunderland: reported in 2001 to be returning from a back injury after a daily course of yoga-type exercises (BBC Sport, 27 March 2001, as printed in the book; we have not seen the original).
• Rugby: Tomas O’Leary (London Irish, 25 Ireland caps) says yoga helped his flexibility and strength; Brian Smith, a Rugby World Cup player for Australia in 1987, calls Iyengar yoga very beneficial for players.
• Swimming, golf, running: Olympic gold medallist Mark Henderson, golfer Muffin Spencer-Devlin and marathon runner David Ansel.

What happened when Justin Langer met Mr Iyengar?

In 2004, during a two-day break after the Mumbai Test, Australian opener Justin Langer visited Mr Iyengar’s institute in Pune with the team’s yoga teacher, Kate Turner, and the conditioning coach. As reported in Australian Yoga Life (issue 11, 2005), Mr Iyengar watched how Langer sat and said he could tell he had trouble with his lower back and shoulder. The article says he linked the tightness to long hours batting left-handed. He then gave a three-hour demonstration with Langer as the model, using props and fine adjustments.

Langer later described Mr Iyengar this way: “He has crystal clear eyes; the eyes of a 20-year-old.” (Australian Yoga Life, p. 2.)

The team’s yoga on that tour was a mix of styles, so we call it simply yoga. The Pune visit was Iyengar yoga. The cricket story is on our cricket page.

How Much Did They Actually Do?

The players with the strongest stories practised regularly, so regular practice is what to try.

• India’s squad, 2004: an hour-long session daily at the Bangalore camp; Tendulkar did an extra half hour (PTI, 19 August 2004, as printed in Yoga For Sports).
• Fast bowler Ashish Nehra, 2004: said the team did yoga at least an hour a day in Bangalore and found it extremely useful (Mid Day, 11 June 2004, as printed in the book).
• Australian team, 2004: daily yoga over a seven-week tour of India; Langer, Hayden, Kasprowicz and McGrath came most regularly (Australian Yoga Life, 2005). Australia won a Test series in India for the first time in more than 30 years. We make no claim about what caused the win.
• Tendulkar, 1999: a week under Mr Iyengar’s care (DNA, 21 August 2014, as printed in the book).
• Niall Quinn, 2001: a daily course of yoga-type exercises (BBC Sport, as printed in the book).

The trials point the same way: five days a week for six weeks in the cricket trial, and two to four sessions a week over 8 to 15 weeks in the track and field studies.

What Athletes And Researchers Have Found

• Cricketers: in a trial of 82 first-class male cricketers, yoga five days a week for six weeks improved core stability, flexibility, range of motion, balance and ankle control, with gains still there at six months. Rao and colleagues, 2021. DOI
• Volleyball players: in a trial of 26 players, adding yoga twice a week gave greater gains in flexibility, balance, endurance and serving accuracy than the comparison group. Erkan Özalp and colleagues, 2025. DOI
• Track and field athletes: a 2025 review reported significant gains in flexibility and balance, some strength gains, and lower anxiety with yoga. Singh and colleagues, 2025. DOI
• Mindfulness and anxiety: an analysis of 11 studies of 582 athletes found mindfulness training lowered anxiety. Si and colleagues, 2024. DOI This tested mindfulness, not yoga; it still counts for our classes, because yoga and yogic breathing build that same steady attention.

These trials tested yoga in general, not Iyengar yoga. In our view as certified Iyengar teachers, longer-trained teachers working with props and precision would be expected to build further on these results. That is our view, not a trial finding. More on why the difference matters in research.

Looking for mindfulness? Yoga and yogic breathing create it. Mr Iyengar taught that poses, breathing and meditation are not divided. Read Yoga And Mindfulness.

How do I try Iyengar yoga for sport?

Ready to give it a try?

1. 2 free classes, plus 2 free ebooks. New to Flametree, or back after 3 months or more? Claim your 2 free classes and 2 free ebooks, LIVE online or in our Darwin studios.
2. Half price 10 class passes. New to yoga: 10 half price classes plus 2 free, $59.50. Done yoga before: 2 free plus 10 at half price, $104.50.
3. A private lesson for your sport: private class pass, $109.
4. For clubs and teams: group class, $149 per session. Ask us about a five-lesson or ten-session club package: contact us.

See the timetable and book here

Frequently asked questions

What is Iyengar yoga for sports?

It is the method Mr BKS Iyengar set out for sportspeople in his book Yoga For Sports: even work on both sides of a one-sided body, precise standing poses, props so stiff players can get the shape right, and yogic breathing around games.

Did Mr Iyengar work with sportspeople?

Yes. His book was compiled with India’s National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. Sachin Tendulkar came to him in 1999, and Australian opener Justin Langer visited him in Pune in 2004.

Why does Iyengar yoga use props?

Props let a stiff body hold the correct shape long enough to learn it. Mr Iyengar’s first prop was the wall. Geeta Iyengar taught that props show you where you are blocked, and are not cheating.

Do I need to be flexible?

No. Geeta Iyengar taught that stiffness is not a big problem and that the method is the same for stiff and supple bodies.

Where can I do Iyengar yoga in Darwin?

At Flametree, in our Darwin studios or live online. New to Flametree? Start with 2 free classes.

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Sources: B.K.S. Iyengar, Yoga For Sports: A Journey Towards Health and Healing (2015), Kindle edition, read for Flametree, with Kindle locations given; Australian Yoga Life, issue 11, 2005, “Aussies Go To Bat For Yoga”, Greg Wythes (print article, no web link); Geeta Iyengar’s teaching as recorded in Flametree’s ebook Geeta Iyengar In Australia (2026). Press reports in Part IV of the book are reported as printed there. This page is general information.