Yoga can begin with something simple: a movement, a conscious breath, a moment of stillness. Behind that experience lies a rich history of philosophical inquiry, spiritual practice and teaching passed between generations.
The 10 yoga gurus explored here approached that practice in different ways. Some emphasised meditation and self-knowledge. Others developed influential methods of working with posture and breath, or placed compassion and service at the centre of spiritual life. Together, their stories help explain why yoga takes so many forms today.
The word guru refers to a spiritual teacher or guide. It also carries considerable authority, which deserves thoughtful examination. Learning about influential teachers means understanding their contributions while remaining willing to ask questions about their methods, conduct and legacy. This selection is an introduction, rather than a ranking or a complete history.
1. Swami Satyananda Saraswati: bringing awareness into every part of practice
Swami Satyananda Saraswati’s teaching brought together physical practice, breathing, meditation and the cultivation of awareness. Through the Bihar School of Yoga, his approach reached generations of students and teachers. One of his most influential contributions was the systematisation and popularisation of a form of Yoga Nidra, drawing on earlier tantric practices.
In this guided practice, students are usually invited to lie down and follow a sequence of instructions involving bodily sensations, breath and other objects of attention. Physical stillness becomes an opportunity to observe experience.
For a modern practitioner, this opens an interesting question: what happens when there is no posture to improve and nowhere to get to? Rest can reveal distraction, impatience or tiredness as clearly as movement does.
This lineage also requires critical context. Australia’s Royal Commission investigated child sexual abuse and institutional failures at the Satyananda Yoga Ashram at Mangrove Mountain. That history belongs alongside any discussion of its teachings and reinforces the need for accountability in spiritual communities.
2. Swami Sivananda: yoga as a way of living
Before becoming a spiritual teacher, Swami Sivananda worked as a physician. He later settled in Rishikesh and founded the Divine Life Society in 1936, bringing spiritual education and service together within an influential institution.
His approach connected several paths of yoga: action and service, devotion, meditation and philosophical inquiry. This breadth is an important part of his legacy. Practice could involve studying, caring for another person, or examining the motives behind an action.
Seen through this lens, a yoga class forms part of a larger way of living. The attention we develop during practice can influence how we listen, work and respond to difficulty.
Sivananda’s emphasis on service also gives yoga a social dimension. Personal growth becomes more meaningful when it changes how we treat the people around us.
3. Patanjali: understanding the movements of the mind
Patanjali is traditionally associated with the Yoga Sutras, one of the central texts of classical yoga philosophy. Much about the historical author remains uncertain. The text itself offers a systematic inquiry into the mind, suffering, practice and liberation.
Its eightfold path includes ethical disciplines, posture, breath regulation, withdrawal of the senses, concentration, meditation and absorption. Physical posture occupies a relatively small place within this wider framework.
Reading Patanjali can therefore change the questions we bring to practice. Alongside “How does this pose feel?”, we might ask: “What holds my attention? What distracts me? How do my habits shape what I perceive?”
The ethical principles of ahimsa, often translated as non-harming, and satya, truthfulness, also invite reflection beyond the mat. Their relevance extends to honest communication, responsible teaching and the everyday choices through which we affect others.
4. Amma: compassion expressed through action
Mata Amritanandamayi, widely known as Amma, is a spiritual teacher whose message centres on love, compassion and selfless service. She is internationally recognised for offering an embrace as a form of darshan, a devotional encounter with a spiritual figure. Her humanitarian initiatives give practical expression to her emphasis on caring for others.
Amma’s inclusion brings the devotional and service-oriented dimensions of yoga into view. Her teaching can be understood in relation to Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion, and Karma Yoga, the path of selfless action.
These ideas need not remain abstract. Listening carefully, helping a neighbour or giving time to a community project can become opportunities to practise attentiveness and generosity.
Her example invites a direct question: how does an inward practice shape our willingness to respond to someone else’s needs?
5. Swami Vivekananda: opening an international conversation
Swami Vivekananda became internationally known through his participation in the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. His subsequent teaching helped introduce wider audiences to Vedanta and yoga philosophy.
His work explored multiple paths, including knowledge, devotion, meditation and action. In his presentation of Raja Yoga, the disciplined study and training of the mind took centre stage.
This history is a useful reminder that yoga’s international journey involved much more than physical exercise. Questions about consciousness, spiritual freedom and the relationship between different religious traditions were central to that exchange.
For today’s student, Vivekananda offers a reason to stay curious about the philosophy behind familiar practices. A breathing exercise or a period of meditation becomes richer when we also explore the ideas that gave it meaning.
6. Tirumalai Krishnamacharya: one teacher, many directions
Few teachers connect as many branches of modern yoga as Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. His students included B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois and Indra Devi, whose approaches later reached audiences around the world.
The differences between those teachers are themselves revealing. A shared teacher did not produce a single, identical method. Yoga developed through interpretation, changing circumstances and the needs of different students.
Krishnamacharya’s legacy is also closely associated with adapting practice to the individual. That principle asks teachers to look carefully at the person in front of them: their experience, capacity and purpose for practising.
In a group class, this might mean offering different ways to enter a posture or allowing more time for rest. Adaptation requires knowledge and attention. It is part of the teacher’s work.
7. B.K.S. Iyengar: learning through precision
B.K.S. Iyengar made detailed posture instruction central to his teaching. His book Light on Yoga, first published in 1966, became an influential reference for asana practice. Blocks, belts, blankets and chairs also became closely associated with his approach.
A prop can change what a student is able to notice. Raising the hand onto a block may create more space to explore a standing posture. Support can also make it possible to spend longer observing an action without struggling to maintain balance.
This approach encourages patient investigation. Where is the weight travelling? Which muscles are doing unnecessary work? Does a small adjustment change the quality of the breath?
Progress becomes something more specific than moving deeper into a pose. It can mean understanding the pose more clearly.
8. Indra Devi: carrying yoga across cultures
Indra Devi studied with Krishnamacharya and became an influential teacher in her own right, introducing yoga to new audiences, including in Hollywood. Her international career helped expand the public image of who could practise yoga.
Her story adds an important female presence to a history often told through male teachers. It also shows how much yoga’s development depended on people who could communicate across cultural boundaries.
That remains relevant in a Berlin studio, where students may arrive with different languages, expectations and levels of experience. How a practice is introduced matters: unfamiliar terminology, an intimidating atmosphere or the assumption of prior knowledge can all make participation harder.
Clear explanations and a welcoming environment give students room to develop their own relationship with yoga.
9. Paramahansa Yogananda: a life devoted to meditation
Paramahansa Yogananda introduced a wide international readership to his spiritual world through Autobiography of a Yogi, first published in 1946. The book recounts his life, encounters with spiritual teachers and the tradition of Kriya Yoga.
His work places meditation and the search for spiritual understanding at the heart of practice. In his tradition, Kriya Yoga is taught within a structured course of preparation and instruction; it should not be reduced to a generic breathing technique.
For readers encountering yoga mainly through movement classes, Yogananda opens another doorway: sustained exploration of the inner life.
That exploration asks for patience. Setting aside regular time to sit quietly may sound simple, yet it can reveal how strongly attention is pulled towards plans, memories and expectations.
10. K. Pattabhi Jois: rhythm and repetition in Ashtanga Yoga
K. Pattabhi Jois developed and popularised Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, an influential system of set posture sequences linked through breath and movement. Its demanding, rhythmic approach helped shape contemporary flow-based practice.
Returning to a familiar sequence can make subtle changes easier to recognise. The postures remain recognisable while strength, concentration and energy vary from day to day. Repetition can become a way of observing those differences.
An honest account must also acknowledge the sexual abuse of students by Jois, addressed publicly by members of the Ashtanga community. His influence does not excuse that harm.
For teachers and students today, consent and bodily autonomy must guide practice. Students should be able to decline touch, change a posture or stop without pressure.
Bringing these teachings into your own practice
These ten figures offer different starting points for exploring yoga: awareness, service, philosophy, devotion, movement and meditation. Their histories also show why learning about a tradition should include questions about how authority is used and how students are treated.
You do not need to adopt an entire system to begin studying it. Read a passage from a foundational text. Explore a familiar posture with support. Attend a meditation or Yoga Nidra class. Notice which questions arise, and take time to investigate them.
At Lotos Yoga in Berlin, classes and teacher training offer opportunities to deepen your practice and explore yoga beyond individual postures. An understanding of its different traditions can help you make more informed choices, whether you are beginning as a student or learning to teach.
Start with one idea that interests you. Give it attention in practice, then see how it influences the rest of your day.