The Tradition

Read below to find out more about the Ashtanga tradition, or visit the About Us page for more information: For Beginners ~ For Advanced Practitioners ~ What Is Yoga?

The Ashtanga Yoga system is a living lineage that dates back nearly five thousand years in a unbroken line of teachers, sages and gurus that reached millions of practitioners through the inspirational life of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois who passed away on May 18th, 2009. It is now continued and honored by his son Manju Pattahbi Jois, his daughter Saraswati, his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy and every Ashtanga teacher and practitioner today. Developed by TKV Krishnamacharya and his student Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois who taught us that Ashtanga yoga was derived from the ancient Indian text, the Yoga Kurunta, written by Vamana Rishi. Krishnamacharya was one of the world’s most legendary masters of yoga. He was initiated into the science of Yoga by his Guru, Rama Mohan Brahmachari. Among Krisharhnamacya’s students we find TKV Desikachar (his son), BKS Iyengar and Indra Devi along side Jois who studied with him from 1927 and into the 1950’s. Jois, or Guruji as he was affectionately called by his students, continued the lineage of these teachings in Mysore, India and all around the world and it is through his lifelong dedication that we have the gift of Ashtanga yoga. Now his son Manju travels internationally to teach Ashtanga yoga while his daughter Saraswati and his grandson Sharath Rangaswami teach at the K. Pattabhi Jois Institute in Mysore, India in honor of his life and legacy and numerous authorized and certified teachers continue the Ashtanga tradition around the world.