India-West News Desk

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Sharath Jois, a star of the yoga community and grandson of iconic yoga guru K. Pattabhi Jois, tragically passed away here at the age of 53. His sudden death sent shockwaves through the close-knit community of yoga practitioners. and celebrities alike. Jois, known for teaching Ashtanga yoga to A-list stars such as Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Sting, died after suffering a heart attack while hiking near the University of Virginia on Nov. 11.

Jois was on a teaching tour across the US at the time of his death and had posted a video of his class on Instagram. Jois was next scheduled to teach in San Antonio. Reportedly, he was hiking with about 50 students at Humpback Rocks when he became exhausted and collapsed. Despite students’ efforts to resuscitate him with CPR, he was pronounced dead upon the arrival of emergency responders.

Sharath Jois was not only the inheritor of the Ashtanga yoga tradition, but also a transformative figure in the yoga world. Under his leadership, the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore became a world-renowned institution. Jois succeeded his grandfather as director of the Institute in 2007, following K. Pattabhi Jois’s ill health. Apart from running the Mysore centre, Sharath later founded the Sharath Yoga Centre, where he continued his legacy of training and teaching the next generation of yoga practitioners.

Her personal journey with yoga was extremely transformative; As a sickly child suffering from rheumatic fever and joint problems, he believed yoga healed him and could help others. He was a staunch advocate of the health benefits of Ashtanga yoga, especially for those suffering from respiratory problems, allergies or the effects of pollution.

According to media reports, Jois, known for his rigorous approach to Ashtanga yoga, was a vocal critic of short-term Teacher Training Certificates and believed that one could only become a competent yoga teacher after several years of dedicated practice.

Jois’ contributions to the global spread of Ashtanga yoga cannot be ignored, especially his workshops and classes attended by thousands of practitioners. His family and students, including such notables as Paltrow and who credit him with her decision to give up alcohol and caffeine, remember him as a teacher whose influence extended beyond physical postures to the spiritual integration of the practice.