Now a practitioner of yoga for more than 70 years, Iyengar's ideas have spread worldwide with many followers in the UK. "Yoga has become a truly versatile practice, largely thanks to modern yoga teachers," says Iyengar's son Prashant, who also teaches.

"This is reflected in the many popular styles of yoga available, from yoga for children, during pregnancy, for sportsmen, for businessmen, for the disabled and for senior citizens.

"With its knowledge of anatomy, physiology, consciousness and conscience, yoga is a science that is able to integrate the body, mind, breath and awareness, understanding the genuine needs of each person and dealing with every aspect of health and well-being from the periphery to the core."

Involving a series of asanas, ranging from shoulder stands and body curls to leg and arm stretches, yoga benefits from regular practice. In many ways the main benefit of yoga is relaxation but there can also be associated benefits for digestion, flexibility, circulation, joint mobility, muscle tone and stress reduction. And still practising yoga every day, Iyengar is its living advert. "Regular practice builds up the body's inner strength and natural resistance, helps to alleviate pain and tackles the root, rather than the symptoms, of the problem," he says.