In a comment on my previous post,
Steve suggested I do something similar for what would have been Pattabhi Jois' birthday this week.
So his birthday will be celebrated either today, Friday or both.
This is a work in progress, I've added it to the resource pages at the top of the blog, please feel free to add comments with suggestions for anything else you've found that you think should be included.
BIOGRAPHY
KPJYI Gallery
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An Interview with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois
"Wisdom of the Masters" article from Yoga Journal
May/June 1995
"Its important for beginning students to start gradually. Begin
with Suryanamaskar, a prayer to the sun god. This
helps develop the correct breathing method and a
focused mind. Practise this for one week and then add
Suryanamaskar B. Practise both of these for another week, then
begin adding standing postures. One day add
Padangustasana, next day also include Padahastasana, day after
that include Trikonasana (for beginners, Trikonasana B
-- twisting -- is best left out). This is the
method. Gradually , one by one, as you are able, add the
postures from the primary series. In this way after the
third week you might begin to practise the sitting
postures. Go Slowly, no problem. Following this same method,
all the students -- all the beginners also -- will be
happy. Taking practise is good. Looking at pictures and
learning from books, practising without a teacher, is
dangerous. If you want to practise yoga, find a guru. Follow
your guru's instructions, and you will be happy with
good health and a good nature. This is very fine. That
is tue. Find a guru with practical experience." Pattabhi Jois
May/June 1995
Interviews from Guy Donahaye's Ashtanga Yoga Sangha 1991-1999
"These transcripts are a record of public talks given by Sri K Pattabhi Jois in France in August 1991. The questions were asked by Jean Claude Garnier and written down by Gilles Kerviche. Guruji's English is hard to follow at times so I have made some very minor edits to the text and included explanations in parentheses.
These records form part of a larger collection of of questions and answers to Guruji over several years published in French as "Entretiens avec Guruji" (51 pages) and it can be obtained from Jean Claude Garnier for 20 € + mailing costs" Guy Donahaye
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| from http://ashtanga.pro/jois/ |
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QUOTES
This is a new section, below are supposedly Pattabhi Jois quotes from YogaUonline (just to start us off) but in the coming weeks I'm going to go through the interviews above and below and try to pin down sources and no doubt add some more. Feel free to add your own quotes in the comments section as well as the source if you have it..
. . . .
“Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal.... But don't approach yoga with a business mind looking for worldly gain.
“Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.”
“If we practice the science of yoga, which is useful to the entire human community and which yields happiness both here and hereafter – if we practice it without fail, we will then attain physical, mental and spiritual happiness, and our minds will flood towards the Self.”
“Yoga is not easy!”
"Practice and all is coming."
“Body is not stiff. Mind is stiff.”
“You can take practice. Don’t talk.”
“Yoga is for internal cleansing, not external exercising. Yoga means true self-knowledge.”
“Discipline means you can take yoga practice. Stamina comes first in the body. Strength comes first in the body. Body means there are three types of body: external body, internal body, spiritual body. Those are the three types of body strength.”
“Breathing is very important. Without breathing, the spiritual mind and body are not coming. There is a method to breathing. That is Vinyasa.”
. . . . .
these are from Awaken.com
“Yoga is possible for anybody who really wants it. Yoga is universal…. But don’t approach yoga with a business mind looking for worldly gain.”
“Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory.”
“So whether you do your first downward dog at 14 or 44, it’s not your history but your presence on your mat that counts.”
“Why fear?”
“Simply be present with your own shifting energies and with the unpredictability of life as it unfolds.”
“Yoga is good for man because the physical body improves, the nervous system improves, the mind improves, the intellect improves—so, how can yoga not be good?”
“I was disappointed to find that so many novice students have taken Ashtanga yoga and have turned it into a circus for their own fame and profit.”
“If we practice the science of yoga, which is useful to the entire human community and which yields happiness both here and hereafter – if we practice it without fail, we will then attain physical, mental and spiritual happiness, and our minds will flood towards the Self.”
“Yoga is not easy!”
“Awake my dear be kind to your sleeping heart take it out into the vast fields of Light and let it breathe.”
“The full ashtanga system practiced with devotion leads to freedom within one’s heart.”
“Practice and all is coming.”
“When the breath control is correct, mind control is possible.”
“Body is not stiff. Mind is stiff.”
“The whole purpose of Hatha yoga is to purify and control our senses. It is the ultimate science of helping us discover what lies behind the apparent reality of body and mind.”
“The title “Power Yoga” itself degrades the depth, purpose and method of the yoga system that I received from my guru, Sri. T. Krishnamacharya. Power is the property of God. It is not something to be collected for one’s ego.”
“You can take practice. Don’t talk.”
“Yoga is for internal cleansing, not external exercising. Yoga means true self-knowledge.”
“Discipline means you can take yoga practice. Stamina comes first in the body. Strength comes first in the body. Body means there are three types of body: external body, internal body, spiritual body. Those are the three types of body strength.”
“Breathing is very important. Without breathing, the spiritual mind and body are not coming. There is a method to breathing. That is Vinyasa.”
“I was disappointed to find that so many novice students have taken Ashtanga yoga and have turned it into a circus for their own fame and profit.”
“In Order to be effective, truth must penetrate like an arrow-and that is likely to hurt.”
“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”
“Yoga, as a way of life and a philosophy, can be practiced by anyone with inclination to undertake it, for yoga belongs to humanity as a whole. It is not the property of any one group or any one individual, but can be followed by any and all, in any corner of the globe, regardless of class, creed or religion.”
“The Ashtanga yoga system should never be confused with “power yoga” or any whimsical creation which goes against the tradition of the many types of yoga shastras (scriptures). It would be a shame to lose the precious jewel of libiration in the mud of ignorant bodybuilding.”
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INTERVIEWS with Pattabhi Jois' early students.
Guy Donahaye Ashtanga Yoga Shala NYC and Mind Medicine blog are excellent resourses
Guy Donahaye along with Eddie Stern where behind the book Guruji (see below) which brings together interviews with many of Pattabhi Jois' early students.
from Mind Medicine
Reflections on "Guruji: A Portrait" - Interview with Elise Espat - Part I
Reflections on "Guruji: A Portrait" - Interview with Elise Espat - Part II
Reflections on "Guruji: A Portrait" - Interview with Elise Espat - Part III
Reflections on "Guruji: A Portrait" - Interview with Elise Espat - Part IV
from Ashtanga yoga Shala NYC
ALSO
Eddie Stern, Dena Kingsberg, Tim Miller, Nancy Gilgoff, and David Swenson share how and when they met Guruji (Pattabhi Jois).
BOOKS
Book links from http://www.ashtangayogapractice.com
 Yoga Mala by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois:
This seminal treatise on Ashtanga Yoga by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois – with its plethora of details on the Primary Series and thorough account of yoga philosophy & spirituality – will bring invaluable clarity to your understanding and practice of Ashtanga Yoga.
Yoga Mala was first published in Jois’ native language, Kannada, in 1962, and then into English in 1999. Jois holds the titles Yogasana Visharada (expert in yoga asana) and Vedanta Vidvan (professor of vedanta philosophy). |
 Surya Namaskara by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois:
The Surya Namaskara form the foundation for the entire method of the practice of yoga… So, if the Surya Namaskara are first learned properly and their inner meaning grasped, then all the various asanas, pranayamas and the like that follow them will be useful and beneficial in their outcomes.
In creating this small booklet, it is Pattabhi Jois’ wish that all practitioners who undertake the practice of Surya Namaskara do so with a proper understanding of their inner significance and of their practical method, so that health, clarity of mind and spiritual elevation may be achieved.
read an excerpt via www.kpjayi.org
|
 Guruji a Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois:
An incredibly valuable book on Yoga and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois: This is a collection of 27 extensive interviews with Guruji’s closest and most advanced students. It is filled with such deep and varying insights revealing the incredible depth, love, knowledge and humour of our beloved Guruji’s yogivally house-holder life.
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ALSO
"In fact, David and I had no idea that there were two separate series until the end of that first four-month trip, when we were leaving, at which point Guruji gave us a sheet of paper with a list of the postures, which were listed as Primary, Intermediate, Advanced A, and Advanced B. At this point he told us to practice one series a day, and only once a day".
from Ashtanga Yoga as it was (The long and the short of it ) Nancy Gilgoff
Available as pfd download from googledocs
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B7JXC_g3qGlWRzZWOUltVnh3RFU
. . . .
For an online up-to-date presentation of the practice with Chants, mp3, downloadable practice sheets and much much more besides visit Ronald Steiner's excellent Ashtangayoga.info
http://www.ashtangayoga.info/practice/
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| Ashtangayoga.info |
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OLD ASHTANGA VIDEOS
A selection of old videos of Krishnamacharya and Pattabhi Jois
- for a fuller selection of Ashtanga and other Yoga videos see the phenomenal list compiled
by Terry Slade
post video suggestions in comments on this post
Krishanamacharya and Iyengar Ashtanga in 1938.
This is the classic Black and White documentary from 1938 that has Iyengar in his early Ashtanga phase giving a demo as well as Krishnamacharya's wife and children
See this post for screenshots of all the asana and mudras from the video
Krishnamacharya in colour 1938
From the same documentary above but just the Krishnamacharya sections
Se the link below to Screenshots of the asana and mudras Krishnamacharya demonstrates
The complete Primary series 1993 from Yoga Works
Led by Pattabhi Jois and including Tim Miller, Richard Freeman, Karen Haberman, Chuck Miller, Eddie Stern, Maty Ezraty
The complete Ashtanga Intermediate series 1993 from Yoga Works
Led by Pattabhi Jois and including Tim Miller, Richard Freeman, Karen Haberman, Chuck Miller, Eddie Stern, Maty Ezraty
Titled Ashtanga Yoga with Guruji Series 3 (1989)
from Maui Yoga.com - from the Sewell Archive.
led by Pattabhi jois and including Tim Miller, Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty and Richard Freeman
Advanced A - Ashtanga 3rd series and part of 4th
Interview with Pattabhi Jois with subtitles, 'One Yoga One method,Yoga is Self-Knowledge'
Pattabhi Jois teaching Chuck Miller and Ray Rosenthal (demo)
Utthita hasta Padangusthasna and Ardha pada padmottanasana
Pattabhi Jois leading Sharath through a demonstration in Sydney (Yoga Moves)
Theory class with Pattabhi Jois parts 1 and 2
Filmed at Tim Miller's school in Encinitas, CA, 1987, October
Go to this channel on Youtube for the rest of this series of videos which includes Practitioners: Chuck Miller, Gary Lopedota, Clifford Sweatte and Tim Miller
Filmed at Tims school in Encinitas, CA, Oct1987.
Pattabhi Jois teaching Richard Freeman the Pranayama chant.
Guruji Led Advanced A (with assists)
Pattabhi Jois aged 78. Tim, Eddie, Chuck, Dominic
Late interview with pattabhi Jois
Pattabhi Jois Assisting with drop backs - old Shala
Home video- Pattabhi Jois assisting sharath with Chakra bhandhasana
Pattabhi Jois Aged 87 on World Tour London 2002
Part of a series of Videos documenting a Full Led primary in France with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath.
The old Shala
Titled- A day in the life of a Yoga Student
from the Tom Sewell archive Maui Yoga.com
See also
Pattabhi Jois Led Ashtanga Advanced series
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Documentaries about Pattabhi Jois
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| from http://ashtanga.pro/jois/ |
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Documentaries about Pattabhi Jois
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| http://www.guruthemovie.com/html/press.htm |
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OBITUARIES
Memories of my Teacher Published in Yoga and Health Magazine
(this is my favourite, thank you to Rachel for passing it along)
"Pattabhi Jois’ philosophy was simple: yoga is experiential not theoretical. As those of us fortunate enough to study with him often heard him say “Yoga is 99 per cent practice and one per cent theory.” He believed that one should simply “Do your practice and all is coming.” Practice alone would quieten our “monkey minds” and allow us to progress along the path of yoga outlined by the great seers of the past. He was deeply committed to the Advaita Vedanta darsana (philosophy) of Sankaracharya. Pattabhi Jois’ other favourite saying came from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. “Sa tu dirgha-kala-nairantarya-satkarasevito drdha-bhumih” – yoga practice, to be successful, should be undertaken for a long time, without a pause, with an attitude of devotion.
When I remember Pattabhi Jois I will always remember his long-term commitment and devotion to his teaching, a teaching I will be eternally grateful to have received. Jois believed in the necessity of having a teacher or Guru who could show you the true depth of the yoga method, just as Krishnamachrya had taught him. Guruji was often saddened that people in the west were teaching what he considered to be his yoga method without ever studying with him. He felt that to be a teacher you first had to be a student and that to teach the Ashtanga Vinyasa method that he worked so hard to share you should study with him and learn from the source, thus keeping the guru parampara – the lineage of a guru passing on the teachings directly to the student. He believed that you could reliably pass on the Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga method only by showing him the type of dedication he demonstrated to his guru, Krishnamacharya".
Charlie Taylor-Rugman
Charlie Taylor-Rugman
.
(this is my favourite, thank you to Rachel for passing it along)
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| Pattabhi Jois and Manju Jois from http://ashtanga.pro/jois/ |
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4 comments:
Wow! Great job Tony. Incredible, how you pulled that together so quickly. All I did was wish for it, and then get a nights sleep!
And next weeks lottery numbers are?
You like : )
It's a start, mostly things I've had around on different posts here and there, just a case of bring ing it all together. Already having some other links sent in, have added a nice obituary
http://www.doashtanga.com/pdf/Pattabhi-Jois-Obituary.pdf
Just practiced my first FULL primary in a month (stone seems to be much lower, still painful but doesn't seem troubled by the practice), one of only a handful of full practices in the last three months. Fingers crossed I might have a half decent practice to take to Crete after all.
WOW. Bookmarked.
Hi Grimmly. I'm confused, do you practice Ashtanga now or Vinyasa Krama (your last post was a Ramaswami resource) or do you practice both? They seem contradictory styles to me? Mike
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