Sri Krishna Pattabhi Jois was one of the most significant masters of yoga in of the modern world. Guruji Jois was born in 1915 in the village of Kowshika, Karnataka, India. Guruji started learning yoga at the age of 12 under the master Tirumalai Krishnamacharya. He learned from his guru for 2 years and at the age of 14, after he had his Brahmin thread ceremony, he left for Mysore as he wanted to attend the Sanskrit University of Mysore. He faced a lot of hardships as he had very little money and in the initial few years in Mysore he had to beg for food while attending and learning his classes at the university. Two years later he came across his guru, T. Krishnamacharya, and was ecstatic to see him. He renewed his relationship with the master and started yoga practice again.
The Maharaja of Mysore opened a school of yoga in honor of T. Krishnamacharya and Guruji Jois was also invited to conduct classes at the school. In return of his teaching, the Maharaja offered him a scholarship to go to school, free food and a salary. So upon his Guru's consent, Guruji Jois started teaching at the Yoga Department of the Sanskrit College, which opened its doors to many yoga lovers in March 1937. Guruji continued to head the department for 36 years, until his retirement in 1973 along with earning his professorship (Vidvan) degree in 1956.
Guruji Jois married Savitramma, and they had three children, Manju, Ramesh, and Saraswati and his family established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in 1948 in the town of Lakshmipuram.
Guruji Jois received fame in the international world after Andre Van Lysbeth became his first western pupil in 1964. He was later followed by many more Europeans, and in 1972, Guruji took under his guidance, the first American yoga students after meeting Manju in Pondicherri. This was the turning point where Ashtanga caught America by a storm. California was the first state in USA to introduce Ashtanga to the Americans and later it also surface in Hawaii. The years that followed provided fame to Guruji Jois throughout the world for teaching yoga practices that he had learned from his own Guru; T. Krishnamacharya.
Guruji Jois visited America for the first time in 1974 to speak at an international yoga conference. During his lifetime, Guruji wrote a book called "Yoga Mala", which was published in English in 1999. He continued to teach Ashtanga at his Yoga Institute in Mysore, but would visit and conduct training in the US occasionally. Today Ashtanga is one of the most popular forms of yoga in America. Many celebrities including Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sting and others learned the techniques from Guruji himself and have incorporated it as a part of their day to day lives.
Guruji passed away in May 2009, because of natural causes, but left a legacy behind that is unmatched to any others. He will always be remembered with love and respect by all Ashtanga followers, as he has imparted the gift of yoga to all his apprentices.
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