The History of Ashtanga Yoga

Key takeaways

Ashtanga grew from Krishnamacharya's teaching at the Mysore Palace Yogashala, opened in 1933.
Pattabhi Jois shaped it into fixed series linked by breath.
Historians and traditional teachers describe its origins differently.

Who was Krishnamacharya?

T. Krishnamacharya (1888-1989) was a Sanskrit scholar, Ayurvedic physician, and yoga teacher. In 1933 the Maharaja of Mysore gave him a wing of the Jaganmohan Palace to teach yoga. His students included Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, Indra Devi, and his son T.K.V. Desikachar.

Who was Pattabhi Jois?

K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009) came to Mysore as a boy to study Sanskrit and became a student of Krishnamacharya. He began teaching at the Mysore Sanskrit College in 1937 and later founded the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute, now called KPJAYI.

What is the Ashtanga method?

Fixed series of postures linked by breath and movement (vinyasa), with a set gaze point (drishti).

Primary Series: Yoga Chikitsa, yoga therapy
Intermediate Series: Nadi Shodhana, nerve cleansing
Advanced series: the later levels

Students practice Mysore style: each at their own pace, with the teacher guiding them one-on-one.

What is the Yoga Korunta?

Jois said his method came from an ancient text, the Yoga Korunta, which Krishnamacharya learned from his teacher, Rama Mohan Brahmachari. No copy has been found, and historians question whether it existed as described. Some theorize that the Yoga Karunta could have been linked to the Kapalakurantaka’s Hathabhyasa-paddhati. Traditional teachers emphasize an unbroken lineage. Historians such as Mark Singleton and N.E. Sjoman emphasize that modern posture practice combined older hatha material with 20th-century physical culture. Both views matter for a student who wants an honest picture.

How did Ashtanga reach the West?

Western students began arriving in Mysore in the early 1970s. Jois's grandson Sharath Jois took over leadership of the institute as Jois's health declined. In 2019 Sharath opened the Sharath Yoga Centre, while his mother, Saraswathi Jois, taught at KPJAYI with her daughter Sharmila. Sharath Jois died on November 11, 2024. Check with each institute for its current teaching and leadership.

An honest note

In 2010 it became public that Pattabhi Jois had sexually abused some of his students through inappropriate adjustments. Sharath Jois later publicly apologized for improper adjustments. This history is part of the tradition, and it is a reason to insist on consent and clear boundaries in hands-on teaching.

Sources

James Mallinson and Mark Singleton, Roots of Yoga (2017). James Mallinson, The Shiva Samhita: A Critical Edition (2007). Mark Singleton, Yoga Body (2010). Wendy Doniger and Sudhir Kakar, Kamasutra. John Woodroffe, The Serpent Power (1919). T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga (1995).