Firstly, Sharathji, thank you for meeting
us. Can we start with your own story;how did your journey in Ashtanga Yoga
begin?
I was seven (years old) when I began
practicing yoga. But I was a child; I wasn’t
serious, so all I was doing was just playing
around with asanas. We lived in a joint family
at that point. Many students, from across the
world, would flock to our home to be initiated
into Ashtanga Yoga by my grandfather, Sri
K Pattabhi Jois. A few years later, we moved
to another place in Gokulam (a suburb in
Mysore).
Obviously, you pursued your practice?
Yes, it was the year 1989. I was 19. My
mother, Saraswathi, wanted me to go and
help Guruji (as my grandfather was known
among his students) in handling his classes.
So, one fine morning, I woke up with a decision
to get serious about yoga. I began going
to the shala at Lakshmipuram at 3am to begin
my practice at 4 am, sharp. I did that for nine
years and before I knew it, I was immersed in
its science and art.
Did yoga come easily to you?
Well, everyone has to struggle. Effort is
imperative, mandatory, almost. But slowly, the
magic began to happen. The more I invested
in it, better the results.
Also, since I’d experienced yoga early on in
life, I was able to pick it easily; I think, somewhere
I had internalized it. In two years, I had
turned into a serious practitioner.
So you had the good fortune to imbibe it straight from
Guruji?
Yes; I got individual attention from him. Also, there were only
a handful of students back then but as time went along, a whole
host of Indian students started knocking at his doors, wanting
to soak in the essence of Ashtanga Yoga.
But Guruji was kind enough to teach me everything he knew;
in addition to the practical side of yoga, he also spent time
teaching me a whole lot of theory, verses from the Bhagavad
Gita and other philosophical subjects. Like I said before, the
more I learnt, the more I wanted to learn.
Yoga, then, is a very personal experience?
That is right. Yoga is something that should really manifest itself
within you, on its own. This can happen for different people
at different levels.
Ashtanga Yoga is perceived as a highly physical practice.
Does it have a spiritual side to it?
You bet it does. It looks physical, intense even. But that’s only
the surface. Once you delve deeper, you can experience its inner
beauty. I often like to compare Ashtanga Yoga with an ocean.
What was your moment of epiphany in yoga?
Honestly, it was a slow process; I just liked and enjoyed it.
It was like a voyage of discovery that involved a great deal of
struggle. I also found that as I submerged myself in asanas (postures),
I began to feel meditative and quiet. As time went by, my urge to focus on the mat only got stronger. And that’s the thing about Ashtanga Yoga. Asanas are only one aspect of it.
So you were being trained to become a teacher?
No. I didn’t become a teacher instantly. Guruji made me understand
and experience Ashtanga Yoga and its essence before I could begin guiding others into it. Each posture, in Ashtanga Yoga, for instance, has a number of vinyasas. As a practitioner,
you need to experience it first before starting to teach others.
I remember initially, I would merely stay in a class with Guruji
and help people into certain complicated postures, etc. I did the
same in my mother’s class as well. I think a lot of it also came
with just being a silent observer. I would watch my grandfather
guide students and spend a large part of my day on research.
Swadhyay, meaning self-study is important. Only when you do
that, you’ll begin to see meaning in your practice. The other
thing is, teaching helps you discover a whole new side of things.
No two students are the same. Therefore, it’s imperative to
understand each person’s body and how much each one can
expect it to deliver.
You believe then it’s a slow and steady progression, right?
Journeying into yoga…
Yes. Becoming a master in this system requires dogged dedication
and commitment in addition to quality time. It doesn’t come
in a day. In the world we live in, one that perpetrates quick-fix
solutions, people are always looking for the fastest route to
becoming famous. This style of yoga is clearly not for them. First
and foremost, you need to like this system and want to lean and
experience it. I guess both my grandfather and I didn’t and don’t
have any desire or ambition to become famous. We just want to
practice.
Over the years of your tours and travels abroad, you’ve
managed to spread Ashtanga Yoga and its tradition to the
world. What has the experience been like?
We began traveling in the mid 90s simply because we wanted
to educate people in the West on an authentic system of yoga
practice. That, I think is imperative.
What about the classes here, in
Mysore?
Students from across the world, come
here to be guided into the basics and nuances
of Ashtanga Yoga. Twice a week, on Friday
and Sunday, there’s a led class. We also try to
educate our students on the yoga sutras and
some lessons in Sanskrit.
Can only young people practice Ashtanga
Yoga?
That’s not true. I have a student who is
55 and who has just started. He cannot do
many asanas; but that’s fine. The essential
thing is for people to understand that asana
is the foundation to understanding and appreciating
spirituality.
Are youngsters these days showing
interest in yoga, in general?
Well, we try to do our bit in inculating a
sense of interest. We
encourage them with scholarships
because we believe that each and
every person needs to learn yoga and experience
both the physical and
mental energy within us so we can all lead
better lives. Suffering is everywhere; we need
to find ways to overcome it. Yoga is a tool.
For instance, in the West, the practice of
yoga has fostered a sense of the family; it has
helped in keeping families connected with
each other.
Now at the helm of the
K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga
Institute(KPJAYI), what are your various
plans?
In our mission to take yoga to youngsters,
we have been talking to schools to explore
the possibility of including it in their curriculum.
The Stanford University is looking at
starting classes for its students in Ashtanga
Yoga. The Virginia Tech University has invited
us recently; one of our students in the US
will be training students there. There is a
buzz about Michelle Obama, wanting to do a
programme on yoga across universities. Let’s
see…
