By Jill Alphonso

INDIAN yoga master Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja (BKS) Iyengar is one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world.

In January, the first studio in Singapore to be approved by Iyengar opened.

The 90-year-old - who began practising yoga at age 16 in order to combat tuberculosis - spoke to my paper about his practice.

You still practise yoga every day at age 90. Why?

Yoga made me a man, it taught me the way of life, a way of living. It is my personal religion. It took me to unbelievable heights. The day I stop practising it is the day I become an irreligious person.

What is your advice to professionals who say they love yoga but find they have no time to practise it?

To say there is no time is a nonsensical and stupid statement. You have time to chat, you have time to wait for coffee, you have time to waste hours at a party.

To say there's no time to take care of one's health and happiness is a ridiculous thing.

Bikram Choudhury, founder of Bikram yoga, once said that props (such as ropes and foam blocks) used in Iyengar classes make them look "like a Santa Monica sex shop". Any response to that comment?

I like to serve (even) those who are deprived of health and limbs so I discovered various means to generate interest even in those who have lost hope in life. If some say the props used in my classes are 'cosmetic', then I say that in yoga, those are transformed to become cosmic.

The Iyengar Yoga Centre Singapore is located at 146B Neil Road (tel: 6220-4048; www.iyengaryogasingapore.com)

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