Shri K. Pattabhi Jois taught this asana practice as a means to purify the six poisons that surround the spiritual heart of the student.   In the yoga shastra it is said that God dwells in our heart in the form of light, but this light is covered by six poisons: kama, krodha, moha, lobha, matsarya, and mada. These are desire, anger, delusion, greed, envy and sloth. When yoga practice is sustained with great diligence and dedication over a long period of time, the heat generated from it burns away these poisons, and the light of our inner nature shines forth.

Pattabhi Jois made it his life’s work to share these teachings and encourage light to blossom within his students by providing them with practical knowledge for the application of yoga in daily life.   He believed in seeing each student according to their individual needs so he could best facilitate their experience and growth with this transformative practice.   His grandson Sharath Jois now leads the Institute in Mysore renamed the Sharath Yoga Centre.   

Everyday I step on my mat I am grateful for the teachings and the teachers that have walked this path before me and that they have spent or continue to devote their lives to shining this spark, sharing this gift, this light of potential illumination….   Yoga is also crucially about relationship and it is vital to learn this ancient tradition of yoga through what is known as parampara.   The transmission of direct and experiential knowledge from teacher to student.   The teacher and student form living links in a chain of instruction that is passed down through thousands of years.   The duty of the student is to practice wholeheartedly and continually strive to understand the knowledge they receive from the teacher.   Over time a mutual love and respect develop between them and after many years the student may receive the blessings of the teacher to pass on their knowledge to their own students with the same good heart and nobility in which they learnt.   This is something that cannot be felt through books or the internet but requires the student to show up raw and undiluted in the flesh.   

To receive the integrity of these teachings it is vital to seek out a teacher who is committed to being part of this process, who is eternally a student and who steps on their mat day after day.   A teacher that is humble and kind and looks to meet each student as an individual facilitating their process according to where they are at.   By engaging in a long term relationship with a teacher, the student’s process can be held and supported tenderly as obstacles are navigated, not simply on the mat but out in the world.   This can be incredibly nurturing and insightful and as a result life may blossom off the mat too.   Hence our commitment and practice can transition away from a sense of struggle and separation towards a sense of compassion, empathy and unity for all beings.