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Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students
AN UNPRECEDENTED PORTRAIT OF A GREAT YOGA TEACHER AND THE WAYS IN WHICH TEACHINGS AND TRADITIONS ARE PASSED ON
It is a rare and remarkable soul who becomes legendary during the course of his life by virtue of great service to others. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois was such a soul, and through his teaching of yoga, he transformed the lives of countless people. The school in Mysore that he founded and ran for more than sixty years trained students who, through the knowledge they received and their devotion, have helped to spread the daily practice of traditional Ashtanga yoga to tens of thousands around the world.
Guruji paints a unique portrait of a unique man, revealed through the accounts of his students. Among the thirty men and women interviewed here are Indian students from Jois's early teaching days; intrepid Americans and Europeans who traveled to Mysore to learn yoga in the 1970s; and important family members who studied as well as lived with Jois and continue to practice and teach abroad or run the Ashtanga Yoga Institute today. Many of the contributors (as well as the authors) are influential teachers who convey their experience of Jois every day to students in many different parts of the globe.
Anyone interested in the living tradition of yoga will find Guruji richly rewarding.
It is a rare and remarkable soul who becomes legendary during the course of his life by virtue of great service to others. Sri K. Pattabhi Jois was such a soul, and through his teaching of yoga, he transformed the lives of countless people. The school in Mysore that he founded and ran for more than sixty years trained students who, through the knowledge they received and their devotion, have helped to spread the daily practice of traditional Ashtanga yoga to tens of thousands around the world.
Guruji paints a unique portrait of a unique man, revealed through the accounts of his students. Among the thirty men and women interviewed here are Indian students from Jois's early teaching days; intrepid Americans and Europeans who traveled to Mysore to learn yoga in the 1970s; and important family members who studied as well as lived with Jois and continue to practice and teach abroad or run the Ashtanga Yoga Institute today. Many of the contributors (as well as the authors) are influential teachers who convey their experience of Jois every day to students in many different parts of the globe.
Anyone interested in the living tradition of yoga will find Guruji richly rewarding.
- GenresNonfiction
464 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
47 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
May 18, 2018
Intentionally or not, this is a profoundly deceptive book.
Please Google “Yoga's Culture of Sexual Abuse: Nine Women Tell Their Stories” for a mainstream, fact-checked article featuring the testimony of nine women who report being sexually assaulted by Pattabhi Jois between 1992 and 2002 in Mysuru and around the world.
Please Google “Yoga's Culture of Sexual Abuse: Nine Women Tell Their Stories” for a mainstream, fact-checked article featuring the testimony of nine women who report being sexually assaulted by Pattabhi Jois between 1992 and 2002 in Mysuru and around the world.
August 11, 2013
As someone who didn't develop a love of Ashtanga until my early 40s, my first response to the stories in Guruji was that I had missed so such. "If only I had discovered this is college! I could have been one of those pioneering adventurers discovering and learning the practice while my body was still young with fewer aches and pains." However, regret for a past that didn't exist for me quickly gave way to a deep feeling of happiness and appreciation that such a record of the life and work of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois was created. Thank you to Eddie Stern, Guy Donahaye, and all the individuals involved with compiling this book! While we're unable to travel back in time and study personally with Jois, the stories in Guruji provide a beautiful description of a time when the world, Mysore, and even Ashtanga was so different from what we experience now.
It's not surprising that the reviews for this book are either 4-5 stars or 1-2 stars (seems like a bunch of people received this title for free from a contest and were subsequently disappointed.)
You are going to LOVE this book if you have a dedicated Ashtanga practice and have been progressing in your awareness of the 8-limb path as taught through the Ashtanga yoga method. Several very well known and respected teachers who studied with Jois in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s are interviewed and it is wonderful to hear their stories from "back in the day" when getting to Mysore was a test of endurance and the shala had only a few Western students.
You are probably going to NOT LOVE this book (so much) if you don't have any prior knowledge of Ashtanga. If you're curious about Ashtanga, but aren't that familiar with it yet, a better book to start with would be something like Kino MacGregor's "The Power of Ashtanga Yoga". That book, which I also own and find valuable, provides an overview of the practice plus detailed photos and descriptions of the physical postures and is a great launching pad for a newcomer as well as a resource for something currently working through the primary series.
Like many of the interviewees in Guruji, a regular Ashtanga practice has transformed both my body and mind. While my personal practice may not be the stuff of YouTube videos featuring advanced postures of strength and flexibility, it is something I hold precious and hope to continue with throughout my life-time. The story of Guruji is certainly an inspiring and motivating one to help me along that journey.
It's not surprising that the reviews for this book are either 4-5 stars or 1-2 stars (seems like a bunch of people received this title for free from a contest and were subsequently disappointed.)
You are going to LOVE this book if you have a dedicated Ashtanga practice and have been progressing in your awareness of the 8-limb path as taught through the Ashtanga yoga method. Several very well known and respected teachers who studied with Jois in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s are interviewed and it is wonderful to hear their stories from "back in the day" when getting to Mysore was a test of endurance and the shala had only a few Western students.
You are probably going to NOT LOVE this book (so much) if you don't have any prior knowledge of Ashtanga. If you're curious about Ashtanga, but aren't that familiar with it yet, a better book to start with would be something like Kino MacGregor's "The Power of Ashtanga Yoga". That book, which I also own and find valuable, provides an overview of the practice plus detailed photos and descriptions of the physical postures and is a great launching pad for a newcomer as well as a resource for something currently working through the primary series.
Like many of the interviewees in Guruji, a regular Ashtanga practice has transformed both my body and mind. While my personal practice may not be the stuff of YouTube videos featuring advanced postures of strength and flexibility, it is something I hold precious and hope to continue with throughout my life-time. The story of Guruji is certainly an inspiring and motivating one to help me along that journey.
August 20, 2019
Just re-read this book in preparation for a book group.
Because information like this wasn't available when I started practicing, I did my best to pick it up by hearsay and from the EZBoard. To me, this book is a profound treasure-trove and I read sections of it over nd over again to absorb its inspiration.
This time around, I am struck by:
-the varying degrees of professed certainty about the tradition, throughout the text
-the different explanations subjects give for the transformative energy of SKPJ: some say he's magic, some say he's an archetypical-mythic healer, some say he's a therapist for psyche and soul, some say what he transmits is discipline and science.
Varying "structures of consciousness" (see Jean Gebser) are clearly illustrated throughout.
-the humility and profundity and self-responsibility of Nancy Gilgoff
-the truth of David Swenson's transcendence of all claims to truth or special legitimacy
-the light and joy and natural-born, curious courage of Joanne Darby
-the brittle certainties of Brad Ramsey and Annie Pace
-the raw, warm, attractive honesty of Nick Evans
-the sheer enlightened beauty of Rolf Naujokat and Norman Allen
-the hidden influence of the caste system and gender norms
-the rapprochement of travels on the hippie trail with the family ways and energy of Guruji
-the shift from the hippie generation to the seeker generation of the late 70s and 80s
For ashtanga practitioners, reading this book within the first year or two of daily practice would be a great idea.
........................................
Feb 2019 Addendum.
One of the authors, Guy Donahaye, has written an article explaining why he did not put one of his own interviews in this book. He claims to have doubted at the time of publication the loving portrait the book portrayed. Donahaye's article is a kind of explanation of his decision to publish anyway, and centers entirely on his own grievances.
The article does not consider the effects of his decision on thousands of sincere readers. The article is not an apology to us as readers. It contains no apology to those more vulnerable people who may have been affected at the time by the decisions he made then.
It is about his own, personal grievances. This makes makes Donahaye's article - like the others in this collection - an important portrait of his own experience as a student. What it is not, is not an acceptance or expression of authorial responsibility. Nor is it an expression of his own personal responsibility as a teacher.
I suggest that people reading this book after 2019 add Donahaye's article to the collection. It's informative to read his contribution along with the others. Meantime, my above review from many years ago stands without changes. That's how I read Donahaye's work in 2014. This book remains an important document of each of the included teachers' perspectives at a certain time. I expect to read it again and again for the understanding it contains, and for the perspective it helps me to develop.
*************
August 2019 Addendum.
Still waiting for an apology.
The authors could write a new preface. Together. An act of love, care, accountability and integrity.
This preface could include each of the fundamental elements of an apology. Not an explanation. But rather: recognition and remorse for of the intentional obfuscation and resulting confusion that the work created.
This new introduction could be made available to everyone who has ever read the book, on a website designated by the publisher, and in any future runs of its publications. The book is important as an historical document - I do hope it does not go out of print. Adding this new preface could explain why it's still relevant and worth continuing to publish.
I am not suggesting that anyone in a victim position should get to take ownership of this piece of narrative. The narrative is a document of something that is worth understanding on its own terms, from a particular set of perspectives that for the moment are especially problematic.
However, perhaps the proceeds from this book could be retroactively donated to a fund for victims of sexual abuse. If white American men have ever made money off the creation and distribution of a guru narrative - particularly to vulnerable women - this is something for those of us who promoted the text to note. It feels like it's universally understood now that royalties from a text like this are morally hazardous. So if they exist, maybe they would be a site for the practice of some Yama and Niyama, somehow. This could be a way - if mainly symbolic - of placing care and value on those not given voice in the pages.
Because information like this wasn't available when I started practicing, I did my best to pick it up by hearsay and from the EZBoard. To me, this book is a profound treasure-trove and I read sections of it over nd over again to absorb its inspiration.
This time around, I am struck by:
-the varying degrees of professed certainty about the tradition, throughout the text
-the different explanations subjects give for the transformative energy of SKPJ: some say he's magic, some say he's an archetypical-mythic healer, some say he's a therapist for psyche and soul, some say what he transmits is discipline and science.
Varying "structures of consciousness" (see Jean Gebser) are clearly illustrated throughout.
-the humility and profundity and self-responsibility of Nancy Gilgoff
-the truth of David Swenson's transcendence of all claims to truth or special legitimacy
-the light and joy and natural-born, curious courage of Joanne Darby
-the brittle certainties of Brad Ramsey and Annie Pace
-the raw, warm, attractive honesty of Nick Evans
-the sheer enlightened beauty of Rolf Naujokat and Norman Allen
-the hidden influence of the caste system and gender norms
-the rapprochement of travels on the hippie trail with the family ways and energy of Guruji
-the shift from the hippie generation to the seeker generation of the late 70s and 80s
For ashtanga practitioners, reading this book within the first year or two of daily practice would be a great idea.
........................................
Feb 2019 Addendum.
One of the authors, Guy Donahaye, has written an article explaining why he did not put one of his own interviews in this book. He claims to have doubted at the time of publication the loving portrait the book portrayed. Donahaye's article is a kind of explanation of his decision to publish anyway, and centers entirely on his own grievances.
The article does not consider the effects of his decision on thousands of sincere readers. The article is not an apology to us as readers. It contains no apology to those more vulnerable people who may have been affected at the time by the decisions he made then.
It is about his own, personal grievances. This makes makes Donahaye's article - like the others in this collection - an important portrait of his own experience as a student. What it is not, is not an acceptance or expression of authorial responsibility. Nor is it an expression of his own personal responsibility as a teacher.
I suggest that people reading this book after 2019 add Donahaye's article to the collection. It's informative to read his contribution along with the others. Meantime, my above review from many years ago stands without changes. That's how I read Donahaye's work in 2014. This book remains an important document of each of the included teachers' perspectives at a certain time. I expect to read it again and again for the understanding it contains, and for the perspective it helps me to develop.
*************
August 2019 Addendum.
Still waiting for an apology.
The authors could write a new preface. Together. An act of love, care, accountability and integrity.
This preface could include each of the fundamental elements of an apology. Not an explanation. But rather: recognition and remorse for of the intentional obfuscation and resulting confusion that the work created.
This new introduction could be made available to everyone who has ever read the book, on a website designated by the publisher, and in any future runs of its publications. The book is important as an historical document - I do hope it does not go out of print. Adding this new preface could explain why it's still relevant and worth continuing to publish.
I am not suggesting that anyone in a victim position should get to take ownership of this piece of narrative. The narrative is a document of something that is worth understanding on its own terms, from a particular set of perspectives that for the moment are especially problematic.
However, perhaps the proceeds from this book could be retroactively donated to a fund for victims of sexual abuse. If white American men have ever made money off the creation and distribution of a guru narrative - particularly to vulnerable women - this is something for those of us who promoted the text to note. It feels like it's universally understood now that royalties from a text like this are morally hazardous. So if they exist, maybe they would be a site for the practice of some Yama and Niyama, somehow. This could be a way - if mainly symbolic - of placing care and value on those not given voice in the pages.
August 1, 2021
Interviews with Pattabhi Jois' students complied by my yoga teacher Guy Donahue. Was good to read and re-connect me with some of the deeper aspects of my Ashtanga yoga practice.
January 24, 2022
Sadly this book doesn´t inform the reader about the sexual abuse Patthabi Jois comitted. There are always to sides of a coin...
Guy Donahaye, the author of this book distanced himself from it, writing: "since his death, Guruji has been elevated to a position of sainthood. Part of this promotion has been due to the book of interviews I collected and published with Eddie Stern... which paints a positive picture of his life and aavoids exploring the issues of injury and sexual assault. In emphasizing only positive stories it has done more to cement the idea that he was a perfect yogi, which he clearly was not
Guy Donahaye shares his current thoughts on the subject of Patthabi Jois repeated sexual abuse during yoga class on this website https://yogamindmedicine.blogspot.com...
Guy Donahaye, the author of this book distanced himself from it, writing: "since his death, Guruji has been elevated to a position of sainthood. Part of this promotion has been due to the book of interviews I collected and published with Eddie Stern... which paints a positive picture of his life and aavoids exploring the issues of injury and sexual assault. In emphasizing only positive stories it has done more to cement the idea that he was a perfect yogi, which he clearly was not
Guy Donahaye shares his current thoughts on the subject of Patthabi Jois repeated sexual abuse during yoga class on this website https://yogamindmedicine.blogspot.com...
June 1, 2012
I took my time with this book and savoured every chapter. Because I'm a practitioner of Astanga Vinyasa Yoga, the method which Pattabhi Jois brought to the west, this book touched me deeply. It included stories from several senior teachers I've studied with. I never had the honour of learning of Guruji, but these stories gave me a glimpse of the man and made me feel closer to the lineage.
September 16, 2014
It's been a couple years since I read this, but I loved the texture of all the interviews -- and I think especially those with less well-known ashtangis. A tremendous addition to the 1 percent theory that we as ashtangis are encouraged to pursue alongside that 99 percent practice. Love that we're reading this for the Ashtanga Yoga: Ann Arbor book club with Dominic! What a treat.
November 27, 2018
Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students is a biography of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, a Yoga teacher, who was instrumental in the popularization of Yoga in the Western World. Guy Donahaye and Eddie Stern, students of the yogi wrote this biography.
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois was an Indian yoga teacher and Sanskrit scholar who developed and popularized the vinyāsa style of yoga referred to as Ashtanga Yoga. In 1948, he established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (now known as the K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute) in Mysore, India.
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois or Guruji, is known as the grandfather of ashtanga yoga. He took up yoga at the age of twelve, was a devoted student of T. Krishnamacharya, a scholar of philosophy and Sanskrit language, and a professor of yoga at the Maharaja Sanskrit College in Mysore. He has preserved the system of ashtanga vinyasa yoga, which T. Krishnamacharya recovered and revived from ancient texts, and made it known all over the world with the help of his students who studied with him in his school.
Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students is written rather well. It offers an insight into the character of Pattabhi Jois through interviews of his students, family and friends in Mysore. It is a fascinating read for anyone following the path of yoga whether they have been fortunate enough to meet Guruji in person or not.
The biography is divided into four parts. The first of the four parts in the book is concerned with how ashtanga first came to the West. The second part consists of interviews of people who live or used to live in Mysore, natives and non-natives alike. The last two parts further unfold the story of "globalization" of ashtanga.
All in all, Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students is not just about Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, bit a celebration of yoga – particularly the ashtanga style.
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois was an Indian yoga teacher and Sanskrit scholar who developed and popularized the vinyāsa style of yoga referred to as Ashtanga Yoga. In 1948, he established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (now known as the K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute) in Mysore, India.
Sri K. Pattabhi Jois or Guruji, is known as the grandfather of ashtanga yoga. He took up yoga at the age of twelve, was a devoted student of T. Krishnamacharya, a scholar of philosophy and Sanskrit language, and a professor of yoga at the Maharaja Sanskrit College in Mysore. He has preserved the system of ashtanga vinyasa yoga, which T. Krishnamacharya recovered and revived from ancient texts, and made it known all over the world with the help of his students who studied with him in his school.
Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students is written rather well. It offers an insight into the character of Pattabhi Jois through interviews of his students, family and friends in Mysore. It is a fascinating read for anyone following the path of yoga whether they have been fortunate enough to meet Guruji in person or not.
The biography is divided into four parts. The first of the four parts in the book is concerned with how ashtanga first came to the West. The second part consists of interviews of people who live or used to live in Mysore, natives and non-natives alike. The last two parts further unfold the story of "globalization" of ashtanga.
All in all, Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Through the Eyes of His Students is not just about Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, bit a celebration of yoga – particularly the ashtanga style.
March 4, 2018
Definitely recommend to get a history of what Pattabhi Jois was like as a teacher.
A good place to start! Lots of tangible ideas here. Especially in regards to the philosophical aspects. Also worded very accessibly.
A good place to start! Lots of tangible ideas here. Especially in regards to the philosophical aspects. Also worded very accessibly.
July 1, 2023
This book portraits the history of Ashtanga Yoga. For a modern practitioner like me this book is pure gold. To read how many well-known teachers tell the tail of how they got to Mysore and how they started their Ashtanga journey is something I would never had the chance to learn in any other terms.
Thanks a lot for this book and all the knowledge, wisdom and history that’s held in it.
Thanks a lot for this book and all the knowledge, wisdom and history that’s held in it.
April 17, 2018
very inspirational :) thank you!
January 30, 2024
This book should be read together with the book written by M. Remski - Practice and all is coming. Five stars for yoga insights made by yoga practitioners interviewed in the book.
August 9, 2012
I love this book. It's almost over and I'm sad. I guess that reveals how attached I am. I'm reading the last pages very slowly. I'm an ashtangi and just as you practice the same poses each day, each interviewee is asked some of the same questions about their experiences with Guruji -- such as why he emphasized the asana piece of the 8 limbs so much, the role that his wife played, etc. -- the answers are fascinating and cause you to think much about the ashtanga path and what sort of change a person goes through with a daily practice like this one, as well as juicy stories about the human beings involved. I might start over from the beginning.
February 1, 2013
I received this book for free as First Read on Goodreads.
I signed up to win this book for my husband who does yoga and likes reading about it. He tried to read the book and couldn't get into it. It wasn't something that he enjoyed. I then tried reading it but couldn't get into it either. I was hoping for more of a story and I think that my husband was hoping for more techniques. It wasn't the book for us.
I signed up to win this book for my husband who does yoga and likes reading about it. He tried to read the book and couldn't get into it. It wasn't something that he enjoyed. I then tried reading it but couldn't get into it either. I was hoping for more of a story and I think that my husband was hoping for more techniques. It wasn't the book for us.
October 2, 2012
This is an account of the life of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. It is inspiring to read about someone who inspired so many others. If you want to read about yoga, family, life, and inspiration, this book is an excellent read. It is also fascinating to learn about someone who lived for a very long time and never really looked older. It is apparent that Sri K. Pattabhi Jois possessed much wisdom. This book is well-written and highly recommended.
January 25, 2014
I loved this book as it gave me a much deeper insight into what yoga is really all about, ie: it's something you try to fit in every day around work and life, with an approach which is open, humble and kind to yourself and everyone around you. It doesn't have to be going away on a 10-day retreat into a rain forest to get away from everyone and having an aloof and/or holier-than-thou attitude, which is the approach that some people seem adopt!
January 1, 2016
Bittersweet. This won't provide you asana technique, so if you want help with specific postures, look to Kino MacGregor's or David Swenson's books on the primary and intermediate series.
For practitioners of Ashtanga who want more info on the lineage and the guru, this is a good resource...but like every other time when the velvet curtains part and you can poke your head behind them, there's a "for better or worse" aspect, so keep that in mind.
For practitioners of Ashtanga who want more info on the lineage and the guru, this is a good resource...but like every other time when the velvet curtains part and you can poke your head behind them, there's a "for better or worse" aspect, so keep that in mind.
February 11, 2012
What a wonderful book!! I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to have an understanding of Guruji, ashtanga and yoga. I wasn't able to practice with Guruji, but this book made me feel closer to this wonderful lineage of yoga that he has passed down. My view on the practice and the world has changed because of this book. Namaste.
Read
November 15, 2012I received this book through a First Reads giveaway.
I'm not sure what I expected when I entered this giveaway, but it was not what I received. I was not able to complete this book, so I am refraining on selecting a rating. I apologize to the author, this was just not the book for me.
I'm not sure what I expected when I entered this giveaway, but it was not what I received. I was not able to complete this book, so I am refraining on selecting a rating. I apologize to the author, this was just not the book for me.
March 15, 2018
I liked this book at the beginning, but it got very repetitive as many of the people interviewed kept saying the same things about Guruji. It was tough and caring and adjusted his teaching to each individual, etc.
July 26, 2011
This book changed my life.
February 23, 2011
inspiring
"Practice and All will come."
"Practice and All will come."
June 27, 2011
Very inspiring and well put together. Some redundancy with the questions, but the answers most often yielded some wisdom. Just what I needed to read now.
Thanks Tannis!
Thanks Tannis!
December 23, 2011
私にとってとても大切な本です。対話なので判り易く、なんせ本当のことを交換し合っているから。練習しなければ上達しない。上達するための練習ではない。
座右の著です。
座右の著です。
Want to read
September 11, 2012I received from Goodreads First Reads:
November 23, 2012
"Do your practice and all is coming." <3
December 23, 2012
Pranams
October 1, 2014
This book was really interesting, but the interviews got repetitive by the end. I am a dedicated Ashtangi, so for me to get bored with it says something.
Want to read
October 31, 2019Forever my gūrūji.. astānga and mysore led by you brought me from the dark and into the light. Every student should read.
July 24, 2011
Totally inspirational; a divine aid in fostering an effortlessly devotional Ashtanga practice.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews