“No coffee, no prana”

                   — Sharath Jois

Who’s Sharath Jois you ask?

He’s the grandson and heir apparent to the Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga yoga legacy. If you have a Netflix instant account I would strongly suggest checking out the documentary “Ashtanga NY” to get a better glimpse into the practice and the men who have been the modern day driving force behind it. Please disregard the celebrity interviews, except Willem Da Foe who of course is lovely in his own way.

Once you’re done with that and you want to see more, jump on over to YouTube and watch early 90’s videos of the ‘who’s who” of the Ashtanga world being led by P. Jois into what I lovingly call “an exercise of grace under pressure”.   Because of it,  I’m now inspired to take my own journey of discovery and practice Mysore at least three days a week.  Sometimes waking up as early as 4:30am (as in half an hour ago before writing this).

One of Pattabhi Jois’s famous quotes went something like this, “No mula bhanda, no yoga!”
Right away it reminded me of Sharath cheeky statement about coffee which I’m sure he got from his grandad anyway.
I had to make it my BQOTW.

A long time ago I had a grandpa too, and he was my  first best friend.

I wish he had lived long enough to guide me into becoming the best I could be at something.
The very same way Pattabhi Jois doted over his grandson.
I get their connection, and I appreciate their relationship as well as crave one of my own.

Some people say that Sharath has sold out to the dark side and brought a stain to his grandfather’s legacy by allowing the further commercialization of Ashtanga**. Does it feel shady? Sort of. Has it affected my dedication and love to the practice?  Absolutely not!

I sometimes suspect that if his grandfather were still alive he might have chosen a similar path. Perhaps reining in his egotistic ambitions a bit more as not to lose focus of the myth built around the traditions of the practice. Regardless, people are up in arms, and sides have been drawn. How exciting!

As for myself, I’m still relatively new to the Ashtanga world, but I already know where I firmly stand. I don’t really care which side is which, and I am grateful that every day I can stand on my mat and chose to be either foolish or sublime. For me the practice is  a prayer in motion and an opportunity not only to see where it can lead me, but where I’m willing to go when I take myself out of my comfort zone.   And yes, I do drink coffee before my led class on Sundays, but never before Mysore!

**(Yoga For Trophy Wives: Who’s Yoga Is It Anyway?)