A Tribute to our beloved teacher, Sharathji

Wednesday, we called upon all who wished to attend a gathering in Mysore. We held a prayer at 8 am. For those who could not join us in person, we invited them to join us in spirit, praying for love and support for the Jois family and for our teacher’s peaceful passage into the light.

Tuesday, the day of the 11/11 portal, our dear teacher and core of the ashtanga community, passed to the other side.

He was teaching many of his old students in Virginia, US, a new sequence he introduced along with a new book launch.

After teaching together with some of his senior students, he went for a trek out in nature. During the trek, Sharath started to feel unwell, and was suddenly struck by a heart attack. One of the students, who is also a nurse, tried to rescue him with CPR, but by the time the ambulance arrived, he had passed. It all went fast. He left his body, his family, and a large community of grieving students in disbelief.

I myself have not been able to stop crying all day. He was not only my main teacher, but he provided a haven for us all in Mysore, where we stepped into an intensity and deep diving into the unknown. So many profound events have happened for me in Mysore as I attended what I would call boot camp...

It's a hub where the Sangha (community) gathers; from all over the world we meet, share the same practice and devotion. Sharath held that space for us, where we were all weaved into his tapestry, us the threads, him the knot and the weaver. He was a teacher devoted to teach; he would show up EVERY morning. Never in my Mysore times did he not come because he was sick or had fallen back to sleep. He practiced before he would teach, his teaching started at 3:30 a.m.... you do the math to when he would wake up.

He chose a path which is not easy, a status he had never asked for. I witnessed him as the "crown" was in passing. He felt very uncomfortable being in the center of attention; I recall him keeping his eyes on the clock on the wall to call off the weekly yoga conference. Nevertheless, he had some rather large shoes to fill. With time he found his role in it all, and I could sense he took his role with much more ease.

Imagine waking up at 1 am to practice yoga and then teach for hours and hours. The practice room is intense and kind of an energetic dumping ground; imagine holding space for hundreds of students every day for months on end. Some really stirring up some deep wounds, all sorts of emotions emerging, full moons could turn interesting...

He was surrounded by students who loved him, and you could see his eyes light up when they would show up to practice in Mysore. To me, Sharath carried much innocence; he lived a pretty sheltered life I would guess, where he was teaching a large part of the year and in his free time he would do nature photography. He had an obsession with Tigers (which he later also tattooed on his arm, pretty cool and rebellious for a brahmin, I thought). He was a great advocate for supporting the rangers and the national parks.

He would make me giggle as he would hold conference and talk about some fun events he would recall, especially the ones about his naughty childhood; he would tell us with such a boyish cheeky smile and laugh at his own jokes. He would also have times of not so smiley times; it was easy to tell when he was tired, usually around end of the season, he would get so moody hahaha. Bless him.

To me, Sharath was my asana teacher. His Shala has been my refuel station where I would regain more strength and push to walk this so-called ashtanga path. It was where I would have many insights, many teachings mainly just by allowing me to go deep within, to listen to an inner wisdom and having the space to do so, as we were all there for that - practice. This is the place where I met so many now dear dear friends, where we see each other here and there in some ashtanga setting most likely, but the main hub being the Shala in Mysore which is like "home."

In his presence, I believe me and so many others wanted to give it all, to really push our limits - both fears, pains, and obstacles appearing and then disappearing. Ambition was on high volume I must say. But ambition is what is needed to create... just saying. Being in the Shala I would never dream of not showing up, unless I was having some serious Delhi Belly; it was all about showing up, it really was, in every sense of the word, if not why bothering going there.

However, eventually I also learned to listen to my body, to not push myself into destruction, but to allow myself to be humble and show up for myself with a slow and peaceful practice on those days.

I feel so grateful that I had one more season earlier this year. Oddly this morning in my practice I was thinking about the new Mysore season coming up, a voice inside told me, it's being cancelled... it's not happening... only a few hours later did I get the news...

Many of us have reached out to share this time of grieving and loss; we are in disbelief. Someone said so accurately: a void that can never be filled. May his soul travel peacefully towards the light, may his family be surrounded by love and support in these difficult times.