Yoga Icon BKS Iyengar Dies at 95

Indian yoga guru Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar who helped popularize the art  died Wednesday. He was 95.

News of his death was reported on his website as well as many major Indian TV stations, noting that he had been hospitalized with a kidney ailment over the past week in Pune.

From a poor family growing up in the village of Bellur, Iyengar was sick as a child, suffering from multiple illnesses, including typhoid and tuberculosis.

At the age of 15, a relative introduced him to yoga--that's when his life began to turn around. By his 18th birthday, he was moving to practice and teach the art of yoga to others, along with new techniques he'd picked up on. It's estimated that he established studios in over 72 countries.

Throughout this time traveling the world and introducing others to a type of exercise that helps relieve the body and the mind from stress and exertion, he wrote 14 books on the subject.

He was also named one of the most 100 influential people by TIME in 2004.

Previous studies have found that yoga not only helps to relax the body and mind, but can even increase cognitive function, according to recent findings published in the Journal of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.

In a condolence message, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described Iyengar as "a fine guru, scholar and a stalwart who brought yoga into the lives of many across the world."

"The nation has lost a personality who devoted his entire life to the teaching and dissemination of India's ancient knowledge and wisdom to millions all around the world," added President Pranab Mukherjee.