The official site announced a public memorial for the end of the month:

Students may come and give respects to Guruji’s soul on Sunday, May 31, 2009 in Mysore.

Beliefnet states:

The outpouring of affection and emotion in response to the passing of beloved yogi Sri K. Pattabhi Jois is deeply moving. Ashtanga studios areound the world are holding tributes: Jivamukti in New York is devoting a week of chanting to him; the Shala in Los Angeles is having a ceremony tonight at 6pm; and many individuals and teachers are dedicating their next practice to him.

At my local studio (in Mountain View, California), we are holding a 30 minute meditation every day before class this week at 6 am.

News of his death was found almost immediately on blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. The conversation on Twitter has now increased in pace, with more than 10 tweets an hour.

It took 3 days for the news to percolate to the mass media, but has now reached major media outlets such as the New York Times, UK’s Guardian, the Times of India, BBC News and more.

Here is a round up of the latest commentary on Guruji’s death:

Pattabhi Jois' death announced on the Guardian's front page

Thousands of devotees of ashtanga yoga will perform their primary series with a heavy heart today after learning of the death at 93 of the influential teacher in the movement, Krishna Pattabhi Jois. – The Guardian

More:

• The New York Times Obituary
• Yahoo News
• Times Of India
• BBC News
• LA Times, LA Times Obituary
• The Google News page

Guruji passed away today, May 18 2009, in Mysore, India.

Sri K. Pattabhi Joi by Govinda Kai

The KPJAIY.org site states:

May 18, 2009
Guruji passed away today at 2:30pm (Indian Standard Time). Thank you for all your condolences and prayers. Please kindly refrain from contacting the family directly at this time.

Here are some thoughts from Facebook.com:

Deeply mourning the loss of my sweet Guruji. He passed away in the presence of Sharath, Saraswathi and the family. Such a mixture of thoughts and emotions flow through me as I remember what this great man and spirit meant to me and to the world.

I am reflecting now on how deeply and radically Guruji touched so many of our lives. I know that, for me, his touch was the beginning of a whole series of events that led me to a life that I could have never dreamed of. Guruji will continue to live on in everything that I do. His spirit and his heart will continue to inform the work that I do. Thank you dear, sweet Guruji for being such a light. Govinda Kai

I am constantly inspired by his teachings and fire, and grateful for the lineage and the network of family and friends that he has created. Rest in peace…live on in all of us. Love. Christine Hoar

Here’s the Twitter stream of reactions (there’s a new tweet every ten minutes on average).

More Reactions (Updated May 18 Evening):

• The wikipedia page was updated within hours of the news
• ElephantJournal.com
• Beliefnet.com
• Cora Wen’s Notes
• Not Ending, Just Beginning by Tina Zym
• Short Yoga Journal blog post
• Barry Silver’s wonderful musical slideshow memorial
• Waylon Lewis at the Huffington Post
• Yoga Dork
• The Hindu newspaper
• Drishti Blog
• Yoga Body
• Svasti

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s the announcement from KPJAIY.org:

*** URGENT NEWS — TOUR UPDATE ***

May 5, 2009: We are sad to announce that Guruji has been admitted to the ICU. Sharath must return to Mysore immediately to be with his family at this critical time. He has asked certified teacher John Smith to finish the rest of week one in San Francisco in his absence. We invite registered and drop-in students to finish the week of led primary in support of Guruji, Sharath and family. If you prefer a three-day refund, please let us know: sharath@ashtangayogasanfrancisco.com.

The second week in San Francisco and the Toronto workshop will unfortunately be cancelled. Full refunds will be given. For information about San Francisco, please email: sharath@ashtangayogasanfrancisco.com. For information about Toronto, email info@sharathtoronto.com

Thank you for your understanding during this difficult time. Please do not contact the family directly and check this website for updates on Guruji’s health.

Since the post there have been comments from readers and also some reactions on other websites. Notable amongst these is the post entitled New Frontier from the blog Visions of Cody. The piece is written by a marketing strategist from a “strategic marketing perspective.”

Cody asks what the intention behind the changes are, and since they are not clearly stated we have to try to infer them. He posits that it is:

To exert control over the transmission of the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga system by reducing the number of officially authorized/certified teachers.

He thinks this will substantially reduce the number of Ashtanga teachers and make the current teacher shortage even worse.

The question of enforcement is brought up:

Which brings up another interesting question: how is the Jois family ever going to enforce these rules? I don’t believe that they own the trademark on the name Ashtanga in the U.S. (please correct me if I’m wrong.) Therefore, they can either ask practitioners to shun non-authorized teachers/studios (a marginal tactic at best) or they can attempt to get the service mark.

Which naturally leads to a comparison with Bikram Yoga (how ironic). A few years ago Bikram yoga “went legal” on studios which did not abide to its official rules, threatening law suits. A lot of studios which could not practically comply with the rules decided to change the name to “Hot Yoga” and slightly modify the official sequence.

Here’s his conclusion in full:

In the end, I think these changes will have a minimal impact in the US. Unless the AYRI aggressively attempts to shut down non-authorized studios (which I doubt,) then the only thing that will change is that basically nobody (with a few exceptions) will be authorized to officially teach Ashtanga so therefore the authorization of Ashtanga teachers will be an irrelevant qualification.

I do feel sorry for the prospective teachers that have been making numerous trips for years expecting authorization. That’s one hard lesson in non-attachment.

If the AYRI does pursue the legal route, then the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga brand will be screwed anyway because there will only be a handful of places to practice. It’ll be like rolling the growth of the practice back to the 1970s level.

Maybe that’s exactly what the Jois family wants – to scale the practice back to just a few true believers. There are rumors that Sharath is taking a few years off and the rest of the family probably can’t handle the current workload for much longer.

I’m guessing that this is a conscious attempt to limit the practice to a smaller group of practitioners that are dedicated true believers and in exchange they’re willing to sacrifice the potential revenue.

If, however, this is an attempt to control the brand and concentrate revenue, then I think it’s a horrible plan. Managing growth is one thing, but choking it to death is quite another.

No matter what, us crafty Westerners will figure out a way to get Ashtanga regardless of what people in Mysore say – the cat’s already out of the bag.

It’s well worth reading and thinking about. Here are some other links on the same subject:

Sweat and Fire: It’s Never the Guru’s Yoga
InsideOwl: Ashtanga and Imperialism
Yoga Vermont
アシュタンガヨガティーチャーの基準をめぐる一連の動き

In contrast with the familiar list of teachers on ashtanga.com, this list as of today (August 14 2008) primarily lists certified teachers (not authorized teachers), or a fraction of the total.

The new list on the AYRI site comes with a change in the standards for being listed. To be listed, the website states:

[Teachers] should maintain a yoga room or shala to allow for daily, preferably morning, Mysore-style practice and should honor Saturdays and the full/new moon days as rest days.

In addition, it seems that the requirements for keeping the authorization to teach are being significantly tightened. For example, teachers are asked to :

• return to India every year and half to study for 2 months
• have a shala for daily classes
• refrain from teaching on traditional rest days such as Moon days
• refrain from teaching any series beyond the primary series
• refrain from teaching workshops

These requirements look like an attempt to raise standards and the quality of teaching. Perhaps it is due to the notable increase in students and teachers in the past 5 years (we wrote about how the number had at least doubled back in 2006). To me, these changes raise questions about the essence of Ashtanga yoga.

What effect will these new requirements have on the quality of teaching of Ashtanga yoga across the world?

In my opinion, in many ways this is a step in the wrong direction for Asthanga yoga.

Asking for a trip to India every 18 months for two whole months puts a heavy burden on new parents and on those with fewer financial means.

No Workshops?
Workshops provide benefits for both teachers and students, and are a key part in building the worldwide Ashtanga community.

Asking teachers to forgo the extra income from workshops may make it impossible for a lot of them to return to India so frequently, since ironically it is often these very workshops which give the teachers the means to return to do so.

Personally, a lot of what I have learned about Ashtanga yoga is directly due to taking workshops with authorized teachers. Had these requirements been in place when I was starting my yoga journey, I would not have had the amazing opportunities to learn from such talented teachers.

Hundreds of dedicated teachers have devoted their lives to teaching ashtanga yoga. They have made enormous sacrifices to become authorized. It seems unfair to change the rules so drastically and abruptly. The standards are changing in a way that may make it impossible for a lot of teachers to continue teaching as authorized teachers.

In addition, raising the standards in such a way that few teachers meet them could have the perverse effect of lowering the quality of teaching because they become meaningless.

These changes do not seem to be in the interest of the Ashtanga yoga community, and in the continued spreading of this wonderful practice.

These are my initial thoughts and I wrote this because I care deeply about the practice. I welcome your opinions on this important matter.

Last month I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Rome’s Lino Miele at a workshop in Bozeman, Montana. If you haven’t heard of him, Lino is a senior Ashtanga Yoga teacher who has been studying the practice for more than 20 years-yet you wouldn’t know it at first glance. He’s as humble as a novice and as excited about the practice as if it were a recent discovery.

Lino Miele and Guruji

As those of us who practice know, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is vigorous. It’s a remarkable and joyful practice, but vigorous nonetheless. In fact, it’s the vigor-the progressively challenging postures strung together with coordinated breath and movement-that encourages body-mind unification. That cultivates all eight limbs of Ashtanga. That encourages stillness: the calm and joy inherent in the present moment. With the grace of a ballet dancer, the shifting intonations of a seasoned thespian, and the wisdom of a yogi, Lino showed a room full of students the gentle side intrinsic to Ashtanga. His lens and teaching tool was the Full Vinyasa System, which he also refers to as “the scientific method.”

The following highlights from his workshop can inform and lend context to all students of yoga, Ashtanga or otherwise.

1. Learn Full Vinyasa. Vinyasa is synchronized breath and movement. Each time you move with conscious breath, you are completing a vinyasa. While I have always known the definition of the term, before Lino I understood vinyasa as what transpires between poses: the moving transitions. In Ashtanga, however, vinyasa supports and cradles the posture, which itself is included in the vinyasa count that begins and ends at samasthiti. While counting vinyasa for janu shirshasana A, B and C, for instance, there are 22 coordinated body-breath movements between samasthiti, including “jumping through”, “jumping back,” and what Lino calls the “state of the asana”: the five breaths spend in head-to-knee pose.

Lino became interested in the scientific method of vinyasa five years after first studying with guruji in Mysore. In 1993, Lino was in France when he, as he writes in his book Astanga Yoga, was inspired when Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois “in his energetic voice [began] calling the exact number of the vinyasa.” Lino began researching the system, which Pattabhi Jois with his guru Sri. T. Krishnamacharya developed from the ancient text Yoga Korunta, which states “Oh yogi! Do not do asana without vinyasa.” In addition to listing each vinyasa count for all postures in surya namaskara A and B, the primary series and the finishing sequence, in Astanga Yoga Lino lists the benefits of each posture ascertained from time spent with guruji, consultation with doctors and persistent review of medical texts. And, no doubt, his own dedicated yogasana.

Helsinki Ashtanga Yoga School
10 Year Anniversary Party (by Rodrigo Quinones)

As students learn the Ashtanga Vinyasa sequence, Lino advises learning these counts-that uttihtia trikonasana (triangle pose), for example, has five vinyasas; parshvottanasana (intense side stretch pose) has 16 vinyasas; and navasana (boat pose) has 13-to see the big picture. To understand the fluidity of breath, body and mind so beautifully articulated through Ashtanga Yoga.

2. Practice Full Vinyasa. During what Lino called a full vinyasa practice, we came to samasthiti between most of the postures, including seated poses. As we did, Lino kept count. “Line up each asana with breath,” he said. He presented the system as a teaching tool that we should learn but not always do. Just knowing the count for each posture informs us of the extra breaths and fidgeting (i.e. the distractions) we so often take between poses. If one did practice with a vinyasa between each posture every day, the better part of their mornings would be spent on the mat. (And while this would be delightful, it precludes most day jobs.) Which brings me to another lovely lesson from Lino: learn, and then learn to let go.

3. Don’t Get Attached-to Full Vinyasa or Anything. Lino insists that learning about the vinyasa system helps one dive deeper into the sequence, and, eventually, oneself. “You taste it, eat it, swallow the system, you digest the system, “he told us in his Italian-accented, matter-of-fact English. In time, he continued, extending the metaphor even further, you become the system. “The practice is you,” he said, and each time you step on your mat, “you work on yourself.”

Years ago Lino taught this system at a workshop in New York City. After learning the full vinyasa system, one woman started doing it every day (as Lino himself did for years). She did it during the primary series and then the second series. Then, two years later, she saw Lino again and she was still doing it. “That’s enough. Basta. Stop,” he said to her. She asked why. He explained that had he taught it as a tool-to become aware-but not to do every day. She started crying, and not just with gentle, zig-zag tears, but with sobs. “Why you cry,” he asked. And she replied: “You’ve taken away my baby.”

It’s vinyasa, he told us all with a knowing smile and a stern wag of his pointer finger, not her baby.

In other words, don’t get attached.

4. Cultivate Compassion for Yourself. “What you don’t do today, you do tomorrow,” Lino told us. In terms of vinyasa, learn the proper counts for each posture and aspire toward them. In the meanwhile, be patient and give yourself a break as you practice lengthening your breath and becoming more adept at transitions. The strength, skill and stamina cultivated through practice will build and, eventually, give way to a fluid full vinyasa practice. Once there, you can decide on your own when it is best to practice with full or half vinyasa.

NOTE: In Astanga Yoga, Lino recommends that beginners practice half vinyasa-which most of us likely do and includes picking up, jumping back and jumping forward to seated positions sans samasthiti; for postures like supta padangusthasana (sleeping big toe posture) where you finish on your back, half vinyasa is initiated by chakrasana (wheel).

5. Practice Posture, not Pride. Which Lino-after arranging himself into a challenging posture and, in jest, strutting around the room with a proud, inflated chest-demonstrated by glancing toward the ceiling and, with one hand over the other, pulling down his ego. Yoga, he explained, lends ample opportunity for accomplishment. But when you finally get that pose you’ve been working on for months, years even, feel a sense of accomplishment and move on. When you move fluidly and properly through full vinyasa, congratulate yourself and then come back to your breath. Ground your ego just as you do your big toe mounds in samasthiti.

6. Go Ahead and Laugh. Have fun. He did. Just be sure to maintain vinyasa meanwhile.

Helsinki Ashtanga Yoga School
10 Year Anniversary Party (by Rodrigo Quinones)

7. It’s OK to be Selfish. Make time for your practice without feeling guilty. Through your practice, he said, you will open your heart to a more joyful, intrinsic way of being. You will change. You will find stillness and peace. By making such space in yourself, you will inspire love and mindfulness in others.

And while you’ve got some time, go ahead and practice full vinyasa. It may take longer, but as one woman who I practice with so intuitively put it, “it’s like coming up for air … one gets the chance to completely fill the lungs before diving back into the practice.” Coming to samasthiti between postures isn’t tiring, it’s invigorating for the many opportunities to take deep, comfortable breaths.

8. Carefully, Carefully. Slowly, slowly, Lino repeatedly cautioned. Pay attention to the unique way that your breath floats through your body. And if your breath is too quick or vigorous, stop, place your right hand over your heart, and catch your breath before moving on.

Again, because full vinyasa inherently slows and deepens your breath so that you can move within the prescribed vinyasa counts, you are careful. You are aware. You are present.

9. See Lino Again. That’s my lesson, not his.

Lino-related Links:
• Lino’s Ashtanga Yoga Schools in Rome (Italy), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Helsinki (Finland).
• Astanga Yoga, written by Lino. This page also showcases his two DVDs, a poster illustrating the primary series, and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’ book Yoga Mala.
• A photo essay of Lino’s annual workshop in Kovalam Beach, South India.
• A review of Lino’s first workshop in the states (Chicago, 1999).

A modified version of this story appeared April 25, 2008 in Yoga On & Off the Mat, a biweekly column by Brooke Hewes about Yoga that can be viewed at NewWest.net/yoga.

I had planned to go to the grand opening of the Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute USA in Florida originally scheduled for March of 2007. But he became very ill and wasn’t able to do it. The opening was postponed until this March, but it didn’t happen then, either. Pattabhi Jois (Guruji) was again quite ill.

When my friend Katy told me in April that Pattabhi Jois was coming to Florida over Memorial Day weekend, I laughed (at first). But this time I felt in my heart that he was going to come, so I bit the bullet and paid through the teeth for a plane ticket to Miami.

The new Institute was a few miles away from our hotel. Its lush grounds are exquisite. There’s a garden, benches, swings, flowers and a massive Nataraj (Dancing Shiva) fountain.

When we arrived, Guruji was arriving, too. Everyone was reverent–many holding bouquets of flowers–and waited for him to enter the building.

He was sitting in a large chair on the stage, wearing white, and a little thinner than I remember him, but clearly happy to be there. He’d been ill for some time, and this was his chance to finally see his dream of opening a shala in the U.S. come true. Guruji, 93, was flanked by his daughter, Saraswati, and granddaughter Sharmila, as well as her children. Four generations of the Jois Family all lined up.

4 Jois family generations with the author Cara

The room is amazing. Bamboo floors. Large-scale photos of the family–including an entire wall featuring Guruji as a young man doing Ashtanga. There were also photos of Sharath (Saraswati’s son) in various poses, plus young (very young) Saraswati and her brother, Manju. My favorite is one of Amma (Guruji’s wife), Saraswati and Sharmila.

Saraswati and Manju were helping teach the weekend’s three classes.

The mood was much more casual than in Mysore, India (where I’ve studied with the Jois family at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute four times), or for Guruji’s workshops in New York City (of which I’ve attended five). There was no line. But one at a time, people went up to Guruji and paid their respects. Some touched his feet; others did not. Just about everyone got their picture taken with him. I became overwhelmed with gratitude when it was my turn, and my eyes welled up with tears.

The room smelled of jasmine and other flowers. The largest contingents of people were from Florida and New York, including many familiar faces from Mysore and Guruji’s other U.S. workshops. I also saw several Ashtanga friends whom I’d seen at Lino Miele’s recent workshop in Chicago.

Longtime Guruji devotee and NYC teacher Eddie Stern, in all white, helped perform a puja (act of reverence) in a small temple area and then gave a brief speech. He said that Guruji wanted badly to open the shala, and that the reason his health was better was because of Saraswati’s constant care; when he said this, Saraswati simply bowed her head and said, “It is my duty.” He also thanked Sharath (who was holding down the fort back in Mysore) and many others.

After another speaker, there was an Indian dance performance, during which Guruji left the stage and retired to another area.

The spacious, pleasant state-of-the-art facilities feature high ceilings, orange and yellow walls, a boutique, spacious showers and locker rooms, a private reception room for Guruji, kitchen and a large reception and dining area.

The latter was laden with the most sumptuous feast of North and South Indian foods I have ever seen. Despite anticipating the next day’s practice, when I got to the end of the buffet, my plate heaped high, I came upon a whole other room full of food and went for more. Again, the atmosphere was genial, casual and non-competitive–sattvic. All in all, too much food was eaten and many new friends were made over dinner. Everyone seemed thankful that Guruji had made it.

The next day I got up early to do a sitting practice on our hotel’s pier, facing the sunrise. We were the first to arrive at the shala, where we waited outside batting gnats while Eddie Stern and his crew prepared the registration tables for us. We were lucky to get spots for our mats in the front row. Slowly the room filled up, and then began to overflow into the other areas. We squeezed our mats a little closer together, and soon everyone had a spot.

When Guruji arrived, there was a hush, and everyone stood up. He had no need to yell, “Samasthithi!”–a command that means “equal standing”–or get on your feet and prepare to do the opening mantra.

He smiled as he led us through the opening chant. Then he sat down and watched as Saraswati took over. She refused to use the mic as she talked us through the primary series. Sharmila worked the middle and back of the room, helping students in various poses.

It was wonderful to be with three generations of Joises again–and to have all of that female energy in the room supporting Guruji. Saraswati’s count was medium-tempo and even, and it was a joy to follow her. This was my first led class with her, and I’m a huge fan. She and Shamila have so much of Guruji’s good nature and sattvic energy.

Soon the room was hot and humid. I hadn’t practiced in a week because I’d been fighting off a cold. Yet somehow I had one of my best practices in memory – strong, flexible and focused. Stealing glances at Guruji and feeling his presence helped! I felt like I had come home. All of my past experiences with Guruji, dating back to 2000, came rushing back to me–and there was nowhere else in the world I’d rather have been.

On Sunday I again did an early sitting practice on the pier, and again we arrived early to the shala and found spots in the front row.

Everyone’s head turned when Tim Miller (the first American certified to teach Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga) walked in–another senior teacher!–and there were hugs all around.

Guruji’s opening chant was strong and loud; he certainly didn’t need the mic he refused to use. He then sat on the edge of his seat and led us almost all the way through a fast-paced version of the majority of the standing poses before Saraswati took over. Again I sneaked glances and often saw him sitting on the edge of his seat watching us.

At the end of class, we paid our respects. At one point we were told not to go on stage but to greet him from a discreet distance because the close proximity tires him out. A few minutes later, Guruji and his helpers were moving his chair so that he could be closer to the students.

The next day, Memorial Day, it was cooler, and Guruji arrived wearing a monkey (stocking) cap and a broad smile. As he came in, the room quieted and everyone stood at the front of their mats, palms in prayer. The atmosphere was one of reverence and respect–as it had been all weekend.

Guruji led the opening chant even more strongly than he had on previous days. Again he led us through the standing poses, his voice booming. Near the end Saraswati took over, and Shammi (Sharmila’s nickname) adjusted students in the back rows. Eddie Stern and his daughter practiced behind us. Indeed, there were many children practicing along with the adults, while other children (and babies) waited in the wings.

Saraswati’s count (the time in which we hold poses) is longer than Guruji’s, and as on previous days navasana (boat pose), urdhva dandasana (L-shaped headstand) and utpluthi (lifting off the floor with your arms while in lotus) seemed to take forever. She also had some stern reminders for us – such as “No hurry!” when people left chaturanga dandasana (push-up pose) too early and “Head back! Head back!” in poses such as ubaya padangusthasana (both big toes pose). During the final seconds of utpluthi, Saraswati kept telling us to lift up (just as her father does) and chided those in the back of the room for cheating.

Since this was the final day of the workshop, we came to standing at the front of the mat after the final vinyasa. Guruji stood up and led us in the Mangala Mantra (closing chant), and his voice was even stronger than before. After one final sun salutation, he told us to lie down and take rest. Instead of obeying, everyone got up and applauded him–our way of showing him how happy we were to have had the privilege to see him. It was an emotional moment, and my eyes welled up with tears.

Cara with Guruji

Later there was more picture-taking and hugging and touching of his feet, during which he smiled and smiled. I also had my photo taken with Saraswati, who asked, “When are you coming to India?” “Sometime this year,” I promised. Now I have to make good on it.

Before they left, Saraswati said the thing we wanted most to hear–that she and the family would continue to come back and teach there–with her father, of course.

URGENT BREAKING NEWS

We are pleased to announce that Guruji’s doctor has given him a clean bill of health and has released him for travel to America. Guruji will be opening the Yoga Studio in Islamorada beginning with a Grand Opening Party on Friday, May 23 from 6PM – 8PM.

We are very sorry for any inconveniences caused by the cancellations in the past two
years but are very excited to share this experience with all students who plan to attend.

Here’s the link to register.

There will be 3 classes and there is no mention of Sharath coming but Saraswathi will be there:

The classes will focus on the primary series sequence, which takes about 1½ hours.

May 23 6:00pm-8:00pm Grand Opening Party

May 24 8:00am Class

May 25 8:00am Class

May 26 8:00am Class

You may have experienced Iyengar classes where the opposite attitude is apparent: use as many props as it takes to mold your body into proper alignment. At various points in the class you are directed to take you two blankets, three belts, one block and chair and re-arrange them to fit the pose.

The many props in Iyengar yoga

A whole industry has sprung up to supply the prop-based yoga practice: bolsters, straps, ropes, calf stretchers, sandbags, gripitz, slings, cushions, eye pillows, head wraps, neti pots and of course mats.

There are stories about how Ashtanga in the olden days was practiced without mats, directly on the floor – and the rougher the floor the better. Weathered yogis relate how they use to practice on packed earth (the dust creating some friction) or even gravel for the most advanced practitioners.

“It makes you feel closer to the earth, and does not bound your space. It is very liberating, and the gravel really toughens you up. I would not go back to mat yoga, it blocks my prana from flowing” commented a teacher who wished to remain anonymous for fear of litigation.

“Gravel? Luxury!” replied another, who would make Keith Richards look like a teenager. “You were lucky to have solid ground to practice on. Back in the day we used to practice in marshland with our heads underwater in downward dog.”

More and more Ashtanga yoga studios are going mat-less: will you be a part of this growing trend?

Today there were some comments on our October 2007 post Guruji in Florida in March 2008 about the workshop next month being canceled.

I asked a friend who had signed up for the second week who said that while she did not receive any official email, when she called up she was told that they were just starting to call students who were registered for the second week (March 24 to 28 2008):

Guruji is not going to make it for the trip - he’s ok but just can’t travel. However, Sharath and Saraswati are still coming but they will only be conducting classes during the first week (see Update below).

It seems students who registered for the second week are given the option to switch to the first week. Here are the details of who to contact from the AYRI.org registration page:

Nargis Lengacher at nargis@sdcreations.org and 831-659-3779 or Camille Kochon at creations@sdcreations.org and 760-804-9333.

I will update this post if anything official is posted.

UPDATE March 4 2008 9:00: According to the Ashtanga.com newsletter:

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois USA Tour 2008: On the advice of his physician, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois will not be traveling to teach at this workshop. We hope you will support Guruji’s new Florida center by joining his daughter Saraswathi and his grandson Sharath for the grand opening party of March 14th followed by classes.
Week 1: March 15-20, 7:00am and 9:00am
Week 2: March 24-28, 7:00am and 9:00am

UPDATE March 4 2008 12:00:On the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute website is an announcement:

My Beloved Students,

I have just been informed by my physician that it is recommended that I not travel at this time. While I am extremely disappointed that I won’t see each and every one of you. I hope that you will support my new center by joining my daughter Saraswathi and my grandson Sharath for the grand opening party of March 14 followed by classes.

This will be my family’s only visit the United States in 2008. I look forward to your support.

Love, Guruji

UPDATE March 4 2008 14:00: Now I am hearing that the workshop has been canceled completely. As I mentioned above, if you want to find out exactly what is going on contact: Nargis Lengacher at nargis@sdcreations.org and 831-659-3779 or Camille Kochon at creations@sdcreations.org and 760-804-9333.

UPDATE March 7 2008: The AYRI.org site has been updated and the workshop has been officially canceled:

The Florida tour has been cancelled. Further updates will be posted soon.

Guruji is doing fine and resting. Please do not call the family at this time due to the abundance of calls coming through. Further updates will be posted on the website.

The Shala in Mysore will re-open on the 27th of April.

UPDATE March 12 2008: From this post’s comments below:

Paradise Yoga would be happy to host ashtanga classes again this year. If there are any teachers coming to town who would be willing to teach classes or workshops, please give us a call at (305) 517-YOGA. Our schedule can be found online at www.paradise-yoga.net and will be updated with the ashtanga information. We are located 1.5 miles south of the Shala in Islamorada. Thanks and hope to see you- Audra Santoro