The Founding Fathers of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga (Part 2/3)

Aṣṭāṅga Yoga's growing popularity

The first American to take yoga classes with Pattabhi Jois was Norman Allen in 1971. He attended a yoga demonstration at the Svāmī Gitananda Ashram in Pondicherry given by Manju Jois, Pattabhi's son. Impressed by what he had seen, he set out to learn this specific yoga system.

1978-2009

Pattabhi Jois persönliche Schicksahlsschläge. Die Beliebtheit von Aṣṭāṅga Yoga nimmt weiter zu.

A little later, David Williams and Nancy Gilgoff arrived at the small Yoga Shala in Mysore. By his own account, David Williams was, after a little more than a year practising with Pattabhi Jois the first Westerner to master all practice series of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga in 1974. He was also the first teacher certified by Pattabhi Jois. The further series bear the name »Sthira Bhaga«, sublime serenity. They include progressive, physically challenging and athletic positions. These series underwent considerable further development in the later years of Pattabhi Jois's teaching. In contrast, there are only very few changes as far as the first two series are concerned.

It was also David and Nancy who invited Pattabhi Jois to come to California in 1975. Pattabhi Jois taught there for four months. This first workshop included only ten or 15 participants. A small start indeed, especially when you know how many people attended Pattabhi's later workshops. Pattabhi was accompanied on this journey by his son Manju Jois, who decided to stay in America to spread the traditional technique of Aṣṭāṅga Yoga there.

Time went by and Aṣṭāṅga Yoga gradually became more well-known in the Western world. Pattabhi Jois was invited to many workshops, not only in the US, but also in Brazil, England and many other countries. The numbers of his pupils started to increase and the early morning queue in front of the Yoga Shala in Lakshmipuram became longer and longer. The finishing sequence including the deep final relaxation was moved to a smaller room one floor higher. In doing so, room was made for the next practitioners. Rumour has it that Amma, the name lovingly given by Pattabhi's pupils to his wife, finally enforced that Saturdays were free from classes - like this, Pattabhi, in addition to the free days of the full and the new moon, had an additional day per week to spend with his family and to relax.

In 1978, Ramesh, Pattabhi's youngest son, dies. The death hits the family like a blow. There is few information about the concrete circumstances but there are rumours about a suicide. As a Hindu, Pattabhi abandoned the most important thing in his life on this day: his own yoga practice. In 1997, with Amma's death, the family suffered another severe loss.

As late as 1999, Eddy Stern finally translated Pattabhi Jois's only book, the Yoga Mala, into English. As a result, the number of Western pupils at Mysore continued to soar. Morning practice often lasted from 04.30 in the morning long into the afternoon. Teaching in the old Shala was virtually no longer possible. For this reason, the Jois family moved to Gokulam, a suburb of Mysore, in 2003 and opened a new, considerably larger Shala there. Each day, up to 200 yoga pupils from all over the world come to practice here.

Pattabhi's teaching and the Aṣṭāṅga Yoga practice system continued to develop. While the early adjustments where closer to bodily harm than to true assistance, Pattabhi now focused on a softer and more attentive guidance into individual positions. In addition to that, many Western students could at this point already look back on decades of practical experience. They also contributed insights from anatomy and movement studies and integrated them into the practice. Even though Pattabhi himself never spoke directly about a healthy alignment in the exercises and movements, the topic »Alignment« gained increasing importance among practitioners. At this point, there were also led classes two times a week, in which the combined precision of breath and movemen, the Vinyāsa system, becomes clear. On the remaining days of the week, classes are taught in the proven Mysore Style, where each pupil practises in tune with their own breathing rhythm and Pattabhi assisted only in case of difficulties or unclarities. His daughter Saraswati (born in 1941) and her son, i.e. Pattabhi's grandson, Sharath (born in 1971) now also act as assistants in Pattabhi's classes.

The tradition lives on

Guruji, as Pattabhi is still lovingly called by his pupils, died on 18 May 2009 at the age of 93. His family has continued the tradition at Mysore. Up to the present day, Jois's daughter Saraswati and his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy each year teach Aṣṭāṅga Yoga to hundreds of pupils from all over the world at the renowned Shala in Mysore.

Further Reading

• Donahay, Stern: Guruji – A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eys of His Students