In brief
Sharath Jois, the esteemed yoga instructor and custodian of the Ashtanga tradition, has passed away at the age of 53 due to a heart attack while hiking near the University of Virginia. The beloved figure in the yoga community, Jois's connection to his grandfather, the late Krishna Pattabhi Jois, enabled him to lead workshops worldwide, attracting thousands eager to learn this rigorous style of yoga. His guidance shaped many practices around the globe, contributing to the increasing accessibility of yoga as fitness. Tributes are pouring in as the yoga community reflects on his profound influence.
Sharath Jois, the yoga master who garnered legions of followers by teaching Ashtanga, the popular style of yoga founded by his grandfather, died on Monday in Virginia. He was 53. His death was confirmed by his sister, Sharmila Mahesh, and John Bultman, the yoga program manager at the University of Virginia. Mr. Bultman said that Mr. Jois had died after suffering a heart attack on a hiking trail near the university’s campus in Charlottesville, where he was visiting. Mr. Jois’s workshops, in his hometown in India and worldwide, were attended by thousands of disciples seeking a direct experience with the leader of the Ashtanga yoga tradition, which involves a demanding series of postures and dynamic movements. Rooted in Sanskrit and Hindu rituals, Ashtanga yoga is widely viewed today as one of the most accessible forms of exercise. His grandfather, Krishna Pattabhi Jois, helped lift yoga to soaring levels of popularity in the 1990s, drawing a global following that included celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna. Ashtanga, which is more physically arduous than other forms of yoga, later came into vogue in India with the arrival of modern fitness culture there. After inheriting his grandfather’s practice, Mr. Jois began calling himself the “Paramaguru,” which translates to “lineage holder,” on Instagram. In Mysore, a city in southern India known as the home of Ashtanga, he was referred to simply as the “boss,” and the workshops he taught there filled up within moments of opening, Kino MacGregor, one of his most prominent students, wrote in an essay published in 2016. “The crowd was growing every year," Isha Singh Sawhney, a student of Mr. Jois’s who cowrote his 2018 book “Ageless,” said in an interview. “He was an excellent yoga teacher, one of the best.”
