Lineage and Gurus
Mysore Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Parampara
Lineage (or parampara in Sanskrit) is the living link between teacher (or guru) and student (or shishya), a continuous vibration of knowledge in action across generations. In our yoga community, recognizing lineage invites humility, accountability, and a deeper connection to the source of our practice. It reminds us that yoga is not a trend, but a living tradition—sustained by devotion, respect, and the relationships that shape us.
In the tradition of Mysore Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, the lineage (or guru-shishya parampara) reaches back to its founder K. Pattabhi Jois (1915 – 2009), his guru T. Krishnamacharya (1888 – 1989), and beyond. This parampara includes, and is not limited to, the teachings of Pattabhi Jois’s daughter Saraswathi Jois (born 1941), his son Manju Jois (born 1944), his granddaughter Sharmila Jois (born 1969), his grandson the young legend Sharath Jois (1971 – 2024), and many devoted international disciples-teachers.
Krishnamacharya was the direct guru of K. Pattabhi Jois and he also certified Saraswathi Jois. He is often considered the grandfather of contemporary yoga. Born in Karnataka, South India, he was a scholar, healer, and yogi who bridged classical wisdom of ancient texts with modern sensibilities. Krishnamacharya held degrees in the six main Vedic philosophies of India and claims that he learned the essence of yoga philosophy, including the Patanjali yoga sutras, from his guru Sri Rama Mohan Brahmachari during 7 years of study in a cave in the Himalayas. Krishnamacharya’s students include many of the most globally influential yoga gurus of our times: Indra Devi (1899–2002); K. Pattabhi Jois (1915–2009); B. K. S. Iyengar (1918-2014); his son T. K. V. Desikachar (1938-2016); Srivatsa Ramaswami (born 1939); and A. G. Mohan (born 1945) — revealing a diverse and potent yoga lineage that is not static in practice, but rather adaptable and responsive to each individual.
Krishnamacharya in padmasana
(photo courtesy website of Dr. Srikanta Sastri)
Patanjali
(the ancient composer of the yoga sutras, symbolic image source unknown)
Beyond India, the honoring of lineage is a universal concept found in many cultures that value ancestral wisdom and intergenerational learning. Whether in Indigenous traditions, oral storytelling, or mentorship in craft and spirit, lineage speaks to a shared human instinct: to root ourselves in something greater, to honor those who came before us, and to carry their teachings forward with integrity.
Sandi Higgins, founder of Aquamarine Yoga, has studied Mysore Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga directly with aforementioned Saraswathi Jois and Sharath Jois since 2013, along with Western disciples-teachers Lino Miele and Desiree Traenker, Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor, and Eddie Stern and Jocelyne Stern. Sandi was authorized to teach by Saraswathi Jois at the yoga shala founded by K. Pattabhji Jois (KPJAYI) in Gokulam, Mysore, Karnataka, South India.
In Loving Memory of
R. Sharath Jois
September 29, 1971 - November 11, 2024
Photo @sharathjoisr
Read some of the obituaries of Paramaguru R. Sharath Jois in the global media: The NY Times, The Times of India, The Hindu, Yoga Journal, Star of Mysore, The Standard, Le Petit Journal
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I feel very fortunate to have studied Ashtanga Yoga in the Mysore tradition with R. Sharath Jois (Sharathji) for over 10 years, from his USA tour with his mother Saraswati Jois in the Spring of 2013 to his last USA tour in the Fall of 2024.
After training with Sharathji at the source of the Mysore Ashtanga Yoga tradition in Mysuru (Mysore), South India in 2016, I was accepted to train with him again in Mysuru the following year. However, due to my elderly dog becoming sick at that time, I cancelled that trip and it took me 8 years to get back to Mysuru!
All the while, I continued to practice with Sharathji and Saraswatiji on their international tours. I also trained with other senior Mysore Ashtanga Yoga teachers from the USA and Europe, including certification with Richard Freeman in Boulder, CO, and practice in Kovalam, Kerala with Lino Miele. I practiced with Sharathji weekly online throughout the COVID-19 pandemic when he was holding Zoom classes direct from Mysuru. After the pandemic, I finally got to see Sharathji again in person for his Mysore classes in Miami in 2023 and 2024. I was accepted to train at his school in Mysuru for December of 2024 and January of 2025.
My last words to Sharathji were, “I’ll see you in India!” as I finished my practice with him in Miami. He nodded at me and smiled his electric beyond-worldly smile and then returned to assisting more students in the Mysore room. Just two weeks later, as I was packing my bags for India, I received the shocking text that he had passed away on his next teaching stop in the USA. He was hiking in the mountains of Virginia with students after their class and he had a fatal heart attack. He loved Nature and he loved his students. Although it feels like his death has come much too soon and too suddenly for all of us, it was possibly one of the most graceful ways that he could bow out of the physical world at a height of happiness.
Sharathji was a fiercely bright star who deeply impacted and transformed the lives of so many yoga students in his beautiful burning through this lifetime. His whole family has inspired and continue to inspire so many foreigners, myself included, to seek to learn yoga from the source - to come to India - in body, mind, and spirit.
This is the testament to the power of the Mysore Ashtanga Yoga practice that Sharathji devoted himself to. It is not about the quantity of years he lived but the quality of the life he lived in his time - the joy and courage and presence he brought to every student, the vivid and deep heartfelt impressions he made serving countless yoga seekers all over the world. He gifted us an understanding that Ashtanga Yoga is to be practiced with a spirit of devotion and service, simplicity, persistence, surrender, faith, and joy. Through his humility and confidence, his clarity in hands-on adjustments, and his overall humor in teaching, he has encouraged me beyond words to follow the path of yoga into the heart. His inspiration and influence on my yoga journey through this lifetime is filled with sheer radiance.
Thank you Sharathji! I know you're still watching.
Condolences, peace, and courage to all his students, to his family, and to all who hold him in their heart.
Love,
Sandi
Mysuru, South India
November 30th 2024
