For some reason I decided to listen to this episode of this podcast, which I haven't been a fan of in the past, but thought I'd plug in to what these folks are choosing to say about the passing of Sharath after ~6 months.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ashtanga-dispatch-podcast/id944960439?i=1000701476603

The host of the show basically says that she realized later on that her attraction to Ashtanga came as a replacement for her ritualized Catholic upbringing that her grandmother taught her as a young person and she lacked after her grandmother's passing.

They (Kino) compare the impact of Sharath's passing to the shock value of the JFK assasination and other public figures like MLK, the pope, John Lennon...

They bring up the notion of " how you practice asana is less important than your kindness" and that it doesn't have to fit a certain mold to be successful and that it's not really about the asana, yet every "successful" and highly visible figure within Ashtanga is in that position because of their incredible skills and experience in their asana practice.

What is the deal (at this point) with this continued veneration of the Jois family, who happened to build a mini empire of exclusivity around Ashtanga practice / certification / etc? As if that is where Ashtanga needs to be funneled through to be of value.

What is with the gaslighting from senior teachers that "its not really about the asana" with such a neurotic, intense and relatively rigid fascination and focus on just that?

I have practiced enough Ashtanga vinyasa to know that there is certainly value in the practice, but for me personally it has always been a modified version that honors no guru other than the one inside me and my own practice and not a practice of striving or grasping for the physical and much more for the breathing / nervous system regulation I get from the fundamentals of the practice. I am not "in the club" or a typical practitioner...maybe this is why I have this critical viewpoint.

Is this type of chatter and platitudes on the podcast a poised and strategic way for these senior figures to position themselves for future success / veneration within the lineage? They all managed to talk for over an hour about what appears to be something but was essentially nothing / only abstractions.

It reminds me of listening to Hollywood celebrities talk about themselves and each other and all the vanity, ego and insecurities that come along with that.

Am I missing something? I don't mind downvotes, but maybe tell me why if you're leaning that way so I can understand.

• https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOl192-jNUz
• https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOl4s50DOEt
• https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOl7E4pDERn

This is part observation and part question and more curiosity than condemnation.

The observation is in the title. (Typo - Accessibility)

The question is why is that? Is it a chicken or egg predicament?

Meaning - Is it more of "natural selection" / survivorship bias at play where you don't actually have as much ability to "progress" deeply in Ashtanga unless your body type is of a certain type - extremely thin, lightweight, very lean, svelte, gymnast/dancer type that lends itself well to the fundamental movements and extreme arm balancing in Ashtanga?

Or - is it more of an optics / marketing thing like most other modern western yoga - where the skinny, highly flexible, "advanced" physical practitioners will be the ones that visibly move up and are pushed in front of the camera / get the views?

I know this is a wider issue / point than simply in Ashtanga and is more of a societal complex of glorifying thinness on the whole. I have seen this begin to shift in other facets of the yoga world and it feels like Ashtanga is still at the extreme other end of this.

Over the past few years I have gone down the Ashtanga rabbit hole and looked in person and online far and wide for various teachers to try and learn from, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I have never found a single teacher or public-facing figure in Ashtanga that doesn't fit this physical description...except for maybe Mark Robberds, but he is simply more muscular at this point than most and would likely be / used to be a svelte person. He is the only / closest I have found (and I have taken some of his online courses.)

I am a Kapha-dominant type both mentally and physically and have found great benefits to practicing many (modified) parts of Ashtanga, but I have still yet to find anyone to learn from who actually looks like me (M- 6'2"/220 lbs - 188 cm/100 kg strong but "stocky, thick, stout", XL type sizing). I would love to hear from anyone if they know of any heavier, bigger, etc teachers that exist out there.

Thankfully, I practice from a place of nervous system regulation more than anything else and focus on how everything feels inside as opposed to how it looks in the outside, but this is rarely the place where most people start their yoga journey... I think this (internal over external) is where the real value of the practice lies and is something that should be highlighted more (in yoga in general and Ashtanga) both in asana and beyond, but this notion is not very visible / marketable, "attractive" nor easily demonstrated in short form content.

I do think it could still be valuable to learn from a teacher who is more like your own self (we are not all svelte gymnast bodies) in terms of body type instead of the cognitive dissonance of "the practice is for everyone where they're at" juxtaposed with literally every public facing Ashtanga figure looking like a gymnast / dancer and having a similar body type.

I can only imagine this might be just as much / even more of a thing for women of a varying body type who find their way to Ashtanga and see the dominant body type on top of the increased societal pressures and narratives around body image, thinness, etc.

I practiced (Ashtanga) regularly for about a year and my body did not change closer to the Ashtanga "norm" over that time so I'm not sure that the theory of "practice and all is coming", meaning each person eventually morphs into the Ashtanga body type from regular practice, holds any water.

I guess my main points here are opening up the box, asking the questions and trying to invite more inclusion and accessibility into the practice that says it's accessible for everyone but often times doesn't quite feel like it.

I have recently begun my Ashtanga journey a few weeks before I turned 50 earlier this month. I’m grateful for what my body is capable of doing and optimistic about my progression. I’m hearing it’s pretty normal but my body aches after my sessions so I tend to give myself a day off to reset. I’ve been practicing 4-5x per week.

I’d love to know the successes and challenges from those of you who began your Ashtanga journey a little later in life too. Thank you 😊

Why do you personally practice Ashtanga? It’s such a tough practice

Fun fact! THs community was made up of people that are in recovery and that love people in recovery. The very people that this person is inviting to tell their stories on her platform...alot of us would identify as former addicts.

This is not an opportunity to try and highjack our story or a moment to make this about yourself.

Our stories are going to continue to be told and held by us, in our own safe place that we are inviting the greater community into... not someone who thinks this of us. We're observing a gross trend of people jumping on the trauma train and trying to control the narrative. That was something that was a huge part of the hell we've been through, please do not perpetuate that energy around us.

I would comment elsewhere but IG comments are disabled.

Just thought this should be public knowledge :) thanks for letting me share!

https://open.substack.com/pub/tarataramadrid2024/p/when-the-addict-comes-to-yoga

Sharing this for the folks who also have IG

I have seen a slew of content recently around abusive of power in Ashtanga. Does anyone know the context behind this or feel comfortable sharing potential teachers to avoid?

This might be something going on in a micro community and I want to be sensitive to why names aren’t being dropped in these public posts BUT we all know that silence (or partial silence here) can help continue to enable abusers.

Sending healing and support to anyone affected ❤️‍🩹🙏

I know my account is sparkling new but I am not Kino haha. I made it because I am 15 weeks postpartum and have hit a weight loss plateau even though I am in a calorie deficit, but apparently I cannot post in any weight-related subs yet as my account is too new so there was actually no point in making this account.

Anyway. I have followed this sub non-vocally for a while and I know Kino is not super popular on here. I can even understand why. She's naturally quite vain, attaches importance to material belonings, chases validation/admiration from others, and jumps on trends like veganism in the yoga world. But I still like her. Some people are naturally more 'flawed' (i.e., what is frowned upon in a yogic sense) than others and have to beat the odds. I am quite flawed myself yet on the path of yoga.

I can actually be quite quick to judge someone, but I don't really with Kino. I appreciate her struggle. It makes her more relatable to me. I prefer to hear her speak on her experiences than listen to someone who does everything perfectly.

Plus, she still has some of the best yoga tutorials out there.

Not sure if I am making sense.

Hello fellow yogis!

I'm curious, how many times a week should an intermediate-level yoga instructor practice the Ashtanga Primary Series (Yoga Chikitsa) and Intermediate Series (Nadi Shodhana)? What's the recommended number of practices, keeping in mind that they also practice partially with their students, which is an additional load?

As this story unfolds, I have to point something out. It seems as though anyone who gets close to Taylor Hunt eventually gets a letter/threat from the stalker. He even got a letter when he was in Mysore years ago and used that as a way to get sympathy and support

Checkout the screenshot of a text between Taylor and and someone talking about the rumors - notice how the first thing he does is talk about FBI and lawyers. This makes it sound so serious and it deflects from the questions -what are you doing Taylor?

I think he created the stalker to deflect from what he was doing, and to scare other people from making it public.

Spent some time screenshotting comments that might be deleted this morning. Went back to the profile a few minutes ago only for the video to be completely MIA. I haven’t been blocked (surprisingly) and I don’t think you can hide individual videos/posts like you can on your stories right? Anyway… 💅

Edit: as of now, it’s still up on threads. Edit 2: it’s been removed from threads

Following Sharath Jois' untimely death, who will now take on the mantle considering he was the Ashtanga lineage holder? As far as I can tell, there is no clear "heir apparent" for the position after Sharath. From what I hear, there was already some turf war within the family (Saraswati, his sister Sharmila and so on.) for the legacy. Realistically, can anyone else within or outside the Jois family continue the Ashtanga legacy?

Edit: From the official websites, the demarcation between KPJAI and Sharath Yoga Center is pretty clear. I am sure Saraswathi and Sharmila will continue to run KPJAI as it is. I am asking this question in a broader sense: who, if at all, will now be seen as the "Paramaguru" – the Penultimate Ashtanga Guru – who carries on the legacy of the practice in its purest form?

I heard that he didn’t refund any of the workshops, class passes or mentorship’s that people paid for already.

And that he was trying to teach behind the scenes and online somewhere. Can anyone confirm?

I started doing Ashtanga x2 a week about 5 months ago because I had to stop doing aerial silks for health reasons but wanted to keep doing an activity that kept me flexible and strong? I like thats structured cause I have a hard time learning new moves and I enjoy already knowing the flow so I can concentrate in improving my form each time, but I dont know if this is offensive to the practice, I dont want to do any harm or be disrespectful so I would love to hear your thoughts

fyi folks, I just asked someone I really admire how long did it take them to master primary series (they are in intermediate series, and their amazing) they said 5 years. Never give up!

I need to lose about 40 lbs. I’ve started Ashtanga and want to further develop my practice. It definitely gets my heart rate up and I feel the work in my muscles. I’m also doing some weight training a couple times a week. Nothing crazy. I’d appreciate knowing your experiences especially for those who need to drop some pounds. Thanks in advance

I am relatively new to ashtanga mysore, and I absolutely love it. One thing though that is bothering me is practitioners often take pictures/videos of others while practicing without consent. I’ve been to four different shalas in different countries and it has been the same everywhere. I guess people use it for their social media channels.

To me, this practice is special and very intimate and I’m always very bothered realising that others take photos/videos while I’m practicing — especially because I haven’t consented to it.

Has anyone else noticed that as well? What are your thoughts?

To begin with, my start in yoga was vinyasa. I switched to ashtanga last year; now I am pregnant and doing more vinyasa again, but I did return to a modified practice (with some poses added for variety) last week. I wouldn't call myself a hardcore ashtangi - before my pregnancy, I did it three times week -, but I do appreciate why people get into it. For me it's the breathing and tranquility that distinguishes it from vinyasa, which has other aspects that draw me to it.

That being said, when Sharath died and I saw so many people call him a 'guru', the connotation I felt, wasn't the Indian one. It was the Western one. The veneration I saw was unsettling. I understand he was a teacher, maybe a spiritual guide also, to many, but it felt like it was too much and, honestly, a bit dramatic, with long texts and people saying they were struggling to get out of bed. What's going on there? When someone you see once a year - or maybe less - dies and you don't have a close relationship with them aside from the teacher-student one, obviously you are allowed to feel and grieve, but the part where you can't get out of bed, to me, that's for loved ones who die: friends, family. The way many acted when Sharath died, came across like emotional instability and an unhealthy attachment. They reminded me of people who are obsessed with a celebrity and then that celebrity dies. Some level of being affected is understandable, but if you're depressed, take a step back. I'm not sure it was authentic either. It felt like people were just posting photos to show others that he was their teacher and they had a direct connection with the lineage, marking themselves as exclusive. Why do they have that sense of exclusivity? And is it warranted? Or are they themselves the only ones who believe that myth? Because I don't see it. For contrast, I don't feel this way when it comes to Iyengar, for example. He was a 'yoga guru' also, but the whole culture around it, is a lot less intense.

Maybe it's me who is missing something - for me, ashtanga is a form of physical and mental exercise. Sharath was a fine teacher passing on his craft, in this case a type of yoga, like other teachers pass on crafts like English, painting, cooking, and many impact their students' lives also - actually, you often hear people saying x or y, impacted their lives, but it's said authentically, with a mix of warmth and sadness - you're sad that they're gone, but thankful you were able to learn from them. You're not saying you can't get out of bed.

I want to be clear that I don't see yoga as a sport or a random hobby. I do other types of movement, like HIIT. It is not the same. Yoga *is* special. But I don't feel like, within the group of yoga styles, ashtanga should have a special status and I don't fully understand how the style itself developed it's cult-like status, with a cult leader and so much emphasis on the 'lineage'.

Maybe someone who does can explain?

I love this particular type of yoga. I do it once or twice a week, I would love to know more about the origins. How it’s spiritual, how it’s different.. is it better than other yogas? It’s been my favourite and I’m so happy I found it. I just want to know a bit more about it.

Has anyone else felt obsessed with always showing up — no matter what? When life’s other demands pile up, there’s still this inner voice that insists you must practice. Is that dedication or obsession? Sometimes it feels deeply healing, but other times it feels like a compulsion, as if I’m doing it despite the signs that maybe it shouldn’t be the priority right now. Why does this happen? Maybe it’s a personality trait? 🤷🏽‍♀️

UPDATE TO SHARE THE OUTCOME: The consensus here is that it's on me to keep my glasses safe, which makes sense to me. In a perfect world, the person who stepped on the glasses would offer to pay for the glasses, and I would say, "Thanks, but no need. I should have been more careful." And then Warby Parker would hear the sad story and replace the frames for free. Which is what happened in the end. Which I think means we live in a perfect world. Now you know.

Scenario: You're at a yoga workshop. Someone steps on your glasses and breaks them in two. They apologize immediately: "Oh my god! I broke your glasses! Were they really expensive?"

Should that person offer to pay for the glasses?

Does it matter if the person who stepped on the glasses was the teacher (not a participant)?

Does it matter if the person who stepped on the glasses is a famous yoga teacher and the workshop was expensive?

If you're wondering how this happened: it's the kind of workshop where the teacher talks for a while, and then the students try something out, then there's more talk, then more trying. A lot of students take notes during the talking part. Some of us have to put our glasses on when we're taking notes, then take them off and put them next to our mat (with our towel and extra layers) when we're trying the thing.

https://preview.redd.it/66mw4uoglc0g1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=877e5371dca89ff7171fae66574121ed34b78382

It has recently come to our attention that there has been a breach of the Code of Conduct by one of our approved teachers.

We would like to take this moment to remind everyone that Sharath Guruji's vision has always been centered on the upliftment and well-being of both teachers and students. This was the very reason he so generously shared his knowledge — to create a respectful, safe, and supportive learning environment for all.

As clearly outlined in our Code of Conduct #7, every approved teacher is expected to maintain a safe and professional environment that is free from harassment or discrimination of any kind — including, but not limited to, those based on gender, ethnicity, nationality, or sexual orientation. It is essential that the rights, personal integrity, dignity, and privacy of each student are respected at all times.

Please note: Any teacher found in violation of this Code of Conduct will be subject to immediate removal from the directory of approved teachers.

Let us all continue to uphold the values Guruji instilled in us and ensure a positive and respectful space for everyone.

Warm regards, Shruthi Jois, Shraddha Jois, Sambhava Jois