R. Sharath Jois

R. Sharath Jois (born Rangaswamy Sharath; 29 September 1971 – 11 November 2024) was an Indian teacher, practitioner and lineage holder (paramaguru) of Ashtanga Yoga, in the tradition of his grandfather K. Pattabhi Jois. He was the director of Sharath Yoga Center in Mysuru, India.

Early life Jois was born on 29 September 1971 in Mysore, India to Saraswati Rangaswamy, daughter of K. Pattabhi Jois. Jois was born into a family dedicated to the practice, preservation and teaching of Ashtanga yoga as his grandfather had learned from his teacher, T. Krishnamacharya. Jois, being exposed to yoga since birth, began practicing asanas informally around seven years old and continued non-committally until age 14. At the age of 19, he began formal study of the Ashtanga yoga system with his grandfather and was the lineage holder of Ashtanga yoga.

Jois' grandfather, K. Pattabhi Jois, began studying yoga with T. Krishnamacharya at the age of 12, in 1927, and continued his formal study with his teacher until 1954. It was during these years that Sharath's devotion to the practice deepened and he began to intuit its transformative power.

Jois studied the experiential as well as the theoretical aspects of yoga with his grandfather for quite some time before he felt that he was ready to guide others through the method. Sharath noted that it was important for a practitioner to understand the asana and the associated vinyasa before teaching others. He spent countless hours observing his grandfather teach, working with students of various body types, and developing a sense of how to work with individual differences.

As a teacher, Jois reinforces the idea that Ashtanga yoga was a process and that asanas are simply one aspect of the practice, preparing individuals to incorporate the other limbs into their lives. There are many layers to the practice and although it may appear as a linear practice, marked by progression based on the addition of new asanas, it was in fact much more nuanced. This was why students are encouraged to focus on the physical practice because the experiential aspects of the practice are where the true learning occurs, not simply by reading about yoga theory; the practice was the foundation for the practical application of yoga theory. He studied under his grandfather for twenty years.

Jois began traveling internationally with his grandfather in the 1990s to teach Ashtanga yoga. They felt it was imperative to travel and teach an authentic system of yoga in the West where yoga was becoming increasingly popular and being taught in non-traditional ways. In efforts to maintain the integrity and tradition of the practice, he continued to travel and teach worldwide.

Director of yoga institute In 2007, when Pattabhi Jois was not in good health and unable to teach any longer, Sharath became director of the institute. He has steadily grown into his role as director of KPJAYI and as the senior-most authority on the practice, having studied and practiced all six series with his grandfather. His style of teaching and presence in the shala has been described by a senior student as a balance of strictness and compassion.

In attempts to continue the yoga lineage, he held a teachers' course in the summer for authorized and certified practitioners to ensure the Ashtanga method was being taught in the spirit of the tradition and with respect to the lineage of yoga gurus who have kept the practice alive - Rama Mohan Bramachari, T. Krishnamacharya, and his grandfather. Jois was honoured at a celebration thrown following the completion of one of the teacher's courses in 2014.

In Ashtanga Yoga Anusthana, Jois discusses asanas that may have therapeutic value.

Death On 11 November 2024, Jois was in the United States, visiting the University of Virginia. While hiking with students at nearby Humpback Rock, he suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 53.

Awards and distinctions Sharath has communicated with schools and advocated for the inclusion of yoga into the curriculum. University of Virginia campus has a traditional Mysore program run by a KPJAYI authorized teacher. Uttarkashi honoree bestowed title of Mahayogi Guru Mysore Yoga honoree bestowed title of Paramaguru Featured in Yoga magazines and Indian newspapers