Ashtanga News

Krishna Pattabhi Jois, Leading Expert in Yoga, Dies at 93
New York Times, May 20, 2009

MUMBAI, India — Krishna Pattabhi Jois, a prominent and influential teacher who drew a global following that included Western celebrities like Madonna and Sting, died on Monday in his home in the southern Indian city of Mysore, his family said. He was 93.

Known to his followers simply as guruji, a term of respect for teachers, Mr. Jois (pronounced JOYCE) had an ulcer in his throat that made it difficult for him to swallow food, according to Sharhat Rangaswamy, his grandson and the director of his yoga institute. In the days before he died, Mr. Jois was also struck by a urine infection and pneumonia, Mr. Rangaswamy said in a telephone interview.

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Knowlewdge Net
October 10 , 2008

Thousands of students flock to the Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India each year in hopes of finding that missing piece to life’s puzzle. The Institute’s style of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga is particularly attractive to Westerners because they enjoy the physical rigor and discipline. While many forms of yoga are more about relaxing, this style is more about physically challenging poses that evoke mental release. Some people say the method attracts the “overachiever” personality type, but in reality it caters to people of every level.

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga was first brought to the Western world by the teachings of Patanjali Maharishi, a sage from Mysore India. He spoke about the significance of reaching internal purification and reconnecting with the “Universal Soul” through eight principles: moral codes, self-purification and study, posture, breath control, sense control, concentration, meditation and contemplation. He believed that each step built upon one another, much in the same way each posture (or “asana”) builds upon the next. Read more…

Express Buzz
K Shivakumar
04 Oct 2008

The ancient, time-tested practice of yoga will be another tourist attraction at the Dasara festivities at Mysore this year. Yoga teachers affiliated to the Pathanjali Yoga Shikshana Samithi, the Vivekanada Yoga Kendra and other institutes have coalesced under one banner, the “Mysore Yoga Okkuta.” Free yoga classes will be organised in sixty centres across the city.

In a bid to help tourists visiting the city get a feel of the ancient practice, the Okkuta has orgainsed yoga classes for occupants at Hotel President and Hotel Viceroy between 6 and 7 am. Tourists here may learn the basics of yoga and meditation. The Yoga Dasara Committee hopes to reach out to at least 3,000 people during the festival this year. Read more..

LA Weekly, CA - 1 hour ago Noah Williams, seemingly sweet and sparkly, will sadistically whip your Type-A Ashtanga practice into Pattabhi-perfect shape in Silver Lake.If you’re looking for a kick-ass flow, perfectly sequenced to the sounds of classic rock & roll, with a little New York humor thrown in and around the hip openers, Vinnie Marino’s your man (see Best Yogi Rock). Bryan Kest holds down yoga for the masses in Santa Monica, with his suggested-donation classes geared toward the advanced practitioner and her 80-year-old grandmother alike (see Best Yoga Class for the Masses). ... Best Compassionate Yogi