Sri Sharath Jois
Sharath was born in 1971 into a family with deep connections to Ashtanga Yoga. His mother, Saraswathi, was taught the practice by her father, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (Guruji). Sharath’s grandfather would also be his own guru.
Sharath began to learn yoga postures at the age of seven and at nineteen he took up a dedicated yoga practice with Guruji.
Sharath would wake at 3:30 am to walk across the city of Mysore to his grandfather’s yoga shala for instruction. Once he was ready, Sharath began teaching alongside Guruji, a routine that continued until Guruji retired from teaching shortly before passing on in May of 2009. Sharath then took on the mantle of his grandfather’s Institute, renaming it in his honor, the Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute, and striving to continue Guruji’s legacy as its Director.
Today, Sharath’s dedication is daily evidenced as he rises at 1:00 am to complete his practice before beginning instruction of the many yoga students at 4:30 am. He keeps Guruji’s teachings alive at the Institute in Mysore.
K Pattabhi Jois Asthanga Yoga Shala
Often cited as one of the greatest yoga teachers of the last century, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois was a dedicated yoga practitioner and scholar from an early age. Studying under the mentorship of Sri T. Krishnamacharya, also known as the grandfather of modern yoga, he helped his guru to develop and spread the ancient lineage of Ashtanga yoga around the world. Yoga Korunta, an ancient asana scripture mentioned by the sage Vamana Rishi, was passed to Krishnamacharya by his guru, Rama Mohan Brahmachari, at the turn of the 19th century and subsequently to Jois in 1927. This scripture is the foundation of what is now known as the Ashtanga Vinyasa system of yoga, a modernisation of the Patanjali`s traditional Ashtanga yoga.
Beginning in 1948, Jois began teaching at his Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, in southern India, where thousands of westerners have flocked to study under his tutelage. He traveled extensively during his lifetime to teach and spread Ashtanga Yoga around the world. Jois passed away in 2009 at the age of 93. His grandson Sharath and daughter Saraswathi still teach at the Sri K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, where they continue to preserve this lineage and share this practice with yogis from all over the world.