Saturday, June 20, 2009

Rite and Rong

The relationship of editor to author is knife to throat. (Quote: Source unknown )
News that is a bit old, but worth reading for two reasons.... - readers can guess both
Ashtanga yoga’s founder dies at 93
Published:May 24, 2009
Krishna Pattabhi Jois, a prominent and influential yoga teacher who drew a global following, which included Western celebrities like Madonna and Sting, died this week at his home in the southern Indian city of Mysore at the age of 93.
Known to his followers simply as guruji, a term of respect for teachers, Jois had an ulcer in his throat , according to Sharath Rangaswamy, his grandson and the director of his yoga institute.
In the late ’30s, long before yoga studios sprang up in malls and gyms , Jois began teaching yoga at the Sanskrit University of Mysore , according to a biography on his website. He eventually opened his own school, the Ashtanga Yoga Institute .
The son of a Brahmin (priest) and astrologer, Jois was inculcated with ancient Hindu teachings from an early age. He was first exposed to yoga when he was 12.
Jois popularised the school of yoga known as Ashtanga, characterised by fast-paced exercises that involve pronounced, but controlled, breathing while holding varying postures.
Jois’s first exposure to the West came through the 1967 book Yoga Self-Taught. Since then, Westerners have sought him out in their hundreds.
Although he was not fluent in English, Jois knew enough to make himself understood to his students. —
© 2009 The New York Times News Service