Sri K Pattabhi Jois -1915-2009
The past couple of weeks have seen some important changes in the world of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga as a whole and in my yoga practice in particular.
On 18th May 2009 Sri K Pattabhi Jois died in Mysore aged 93. I would like to use the words sent to me by Triyoga, my former yoga school in London, which I think give a nice summary of the wonderful life of our Guruji, who gave the most amazing gift to all Ashtanga Vinyasa students in countries all over the world.
The past couple of weeks have seen some important changes in the world of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga as a whole and in my yoga practice in particular.
On 18th May 2009 Sri K Pattabhi Jois died in Mysore aged 93. I would like to use the words sent to me by Triyoga, my former yoga school in London, which I think give a nice summary of the wonderful life of our Guruji, who gave the most amazing gift to all Ashtanga Vinyasa students in countries all over the world.
'It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing away of Sri K Pattabhi Jois (known affectionately as ‘Guruji’ to his students) on May 18th 2009 aged 93. He died at home in Mysore surrounded by his family.
It is because of Jois’ unwavering dedication to sharing his knowledge of the Ashtanga yoga system, passed down to him from Krishnamacharya, that we have the practice of Ashtanga today.
Tirelessly teaching the Ashtanga Yoga method for over 65 years it wasn’t until almost 30 years after Jois started teaching that the first Westerner came to study with him. It took a further 10 years for word to begin to spread and for Guruji to start to see his first handful of students grow to become the worldwide tribe of dedicated practitioners that it is today.
It is our belief that without Guruji's dedication to teach and pass on the practice of Ashtanga Yoga to the world, the growth of yoga - including the sustenance of yoga centres - and the transformation of people's lives that the world has experienced over the last decade would not have taken place. We are eternally grateful to him.
Even though he was a Sanskrit Scholar and held the equivalent of an MA degree in Vedanta, Jois remained true to his saying: ‘Ashtanga Yoga is 1% theory and 99% practice’, writing only one book, ‘Yoga Mala’. He believed that yoga was only truly to be known by the experience of it - ‘Do your practice and all is coming’.
Guruji was much loved for his heart, his smile, his humour and his devotion - both to his family and to Ashtanga yoga. We offer him our deepest gratitude and respect. Our prayers and thoughts are with his family.'
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to him for dedicating his life to the study and teaching of this fantastic system of yoga and for the great sacrifices he made in order to do this.
It is because of Jois’ unwavering dedication to sharing his knowledge of the Ashtanga yoga system, passed down to him from Krishnamacharya, that we have the practice of Ashtanga today.
Tirelessly teaching the Ashtanga Yoga method for over 65 years it wasn’t until almost 30 years after Jois started teaching that the first Westerner came to study with him. It took a further 10 years for word to begin to spread and for Guruji to start to see his first handful of students grow to become the worldwide tribe of dedicated practitioners that it is today.
It is our belief that without Guruji's dedication to teach and pass on the practice of Ashtanga Yoga to the world, the growth of yoga - including the sustenance of yoga centres - and the transformation of people's lives that the world has experienced over the last decade would not have taken place. We are eternally grateful to him.
Even though he was a Sanskrit Scholar and held the equivalent of an MA degree in Vedanta, Jois remained true to his saying: ‘Ashtanga Yoga is 1% theory and 99% practice’, writing only one book, ‘Yoga Mala’. He believed that yoga was only truly to be known by the experience of it - ‘Do your practice and all is coming’.
Guruji was much loved for his heart, his smile, his humour and his devotion - both to his family and to Ashtanga yoga. We offer him our deepest gratitude and respect. Our prayers and thoughts are with his family.'
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to him for dedicating his life to the study and teaching of this fantastic system of yoga and for the great sacrifices he made in order to do this.
Now to the personal revelation that I had while trekking with dad in the mountains north of Dharmsala, in Himachal Pradesh. We spent 5 days walking, up to 8 hours a day, climbing up to ridges and descending into deep valleys, culminating in me reaching the snow line below the Indahar Pass between the valleys of the Beas (?) and the Ravi rivers. The climbing was often relentless and pretty steep (especially for a couple of people who haven’t done much serious walking for a while). Taking into consideration the high altitude as well (2900metres at the highest point we reached) it was tough. We were camping for 3 nights in reasonable tents but with ‘mattresses’ which were neither use nor ornament and so lack of sleep entered into the equation too. We had three fantastic guides and porters who looked after us beautifully and we had a great time. And very importantly for me was the realisation that I was managing all of this many times better than I would have imagined. A couple of years ago walking and sliding down steepish slopes covered in loose scree would have turned me into a gibbering idiot. You wouldn’t have caught me even contemplating 'skiing' down a frozen stream and I would probably have been overwhelmed and exhausted by the upward climbs not to mention stiff as a board by the end of it. On day 3 I suddenly realised that a huge change had come over me and, having not been involved in any great feats of endurance or trips to the gym recently, I realised that it must be my yoga practice in particular, and perhaps the meditation I’ve been doing recently, that are to thank for it. While climbing to the snow line, I compiled a list of the benefits I saw just while trekking and I’ve ordered them from gross physical benefits to more subtle emotional and mental benefits:
· Increased overall strength
· Particular increase in strength of leg and shoulder muscles
· Increased cardiovascular fitness
· Total lack of stiffness during the trek or at the end of it
· Very fast recovery after the trek (as in the day after we returned I felt as if I hadn’t done anything different)
· Hugely improved coordination and problem solving ability
· Very much improved stamina
· Huge increase in confidence regarding where to put my feet!
· Decrease in fear of heights, falling, slipping etc
· A more positive mental attitude
Negative experiences on the Iyengar yoga course I took in Mcleod, had led to a few weeks of disillusionment with my yoga practice. I was feeling that I would never find the perfect teacher to study with and had kind of lost sight of the reasons for getting up at 6am, 6 days a week to sweat myself inside out doing the same postures, in the same order. I know, as a western, objectives- obsessed, self-punishment junky I need to see progress to maintain my enthusiasm for most things. Am I just allowing an old familiar pattern of mental behaviour to enter my yoga practice where it has no right to be? What will I do if I one day reach a point where I no longer actually make any progress in my practice or where I fail to perceive any progress I have made? Will I reach a point where progress no longer matters; where the ego is no longer demanding its regular little massages in the form of boxes ticked, postures learnt and perfected?
Well I don’t know the answers to these questions but one thing I have really understood over the past 9 months is that the practice is the key. If you do the practice, the answers to these questions will come or will no longer matter. This can teach us something about living in the moment; living in the practice NOW; BEING in the posture ‘as it is at this moment, not as we would like it to be but as it is*’. No craving, no aversion. Not thinking about the past or looking to the future. No analysing.
In the words of my good friend in yoga, former Mysore flatmate and absolute hoot, Diana:
‘Ashtanga yoga. Shut the f**k up!’
*This is a quote from S.N. Goenka, Vipassana meditation teacher. He is referring to how meditation helps us to really perceive reality. The practice of yoga, which aims to reveal to the watcher the connections (the yoga= the yoke) between mind, body and spirit, has a very similar aim.
· Increased overall strength
· Particular increase in strength of leg and shoulder muscles
· Increased cardiovascular fitness
· Total lack of stiffness during the trek or at the end of it
· Very fast recovery after the trek (as in the day after we returned I felt as if I hadn’t done anything different)
· Hugely improved coordination and problem solving ability
· Very much improved stamina
· Huge increase in confidence regarding where to put my feet!
· Decrease in fear of heights, falling, slipping etc
· A more positive mental attitude
Negative experiences on the Iyengar yoga course I took in Mcleod, had led to a few weeks of disillusionment with my yoga practice. I was feeling that I would never find the perfect teacher to study with and had kind of lost sight of the reasons for getting up at 6am, 6 days a week to sweat myself inside out doing the same postures, in the same order. I know, as a western, objectives- obsessed, self-punishment junky I need to see progress to maintain my enthusiasm for most things. Am I just allowing an old familiar pattern of mental behaviour to enter my yoga practice where it has no right to be? What will I do if I one day reach a point where I no longer actually make any progress in my practice or where I fail to perceive any progress I have made? Will I reach a point where progress no longer matters; where the ego is no longer demanding its regular little massages in the form of boxes ticked, postures learnt and perfected?
Well I don’t know the answers to these questions but one thing I have really understood over the past 9 months is that the practice is the key. If you do the practice, the answers to these questions will come or will no longer matter. This can teach us something about living in the moment; living in the practice NOW; BEING in the posture ‘as it is at this moment, not as we would like it to be but as it is*’. No craving, no aversion. Not thinking about the past or looking to the future. No analysing.
In the words of my good friend in yoga, former Mysore flatmate and absolute hoot, Diana:
‘Ashtanga yoga. Shut the f**k up!’
*This is a quote from S.N. Goenka, Vipassana meditation teacher. He is referring to how meditation helps us to really perceive reality. The practice of yoga, which aims to reveal to the watcher the connections (the yoga= the yoke) between mind, body and spirit, has a very similar aim.
