When I got certified in Ashtanga yoga, I was deep into researching/writing a book on its history as taught by Pattabhi Jois. At the time, my motivation was fueled by frustration with Mark Singleton’s book, Yoga Body, which made claims about yoga’s modern evolution—especially the origins of Ashtanga Yoga—that felt, at best, misinformed and, at worst, designed to dismantle long-held traditions. Some of his assertions still don’t hold up today, though I haven’t kept up with any revisions he may have made.
Table of Contents
the Myth of Ashtanga’s Lineage
One of my most significant interviews was with T.K. Sharma, who studied with T Krishnamacharya at the same time as Pattabhi Jois and BKS Iyengar. What he told me shattered everything I had been led to believe about the origins of Ashtanga yoga:
- Krishnamacharya did not teach Surya Namaskara A & B.
- There was no structured method, sequence, or system as we know it today.
- If you had a flexible back, you were given backbends.
- If you had open hips, you were given leg-behind-the-head postures.
- There was no real warm-up or progressive sequencing—students were trained to perform for demonstrations, not follow a set system.
I wanted more confirmation, so I asked Sharath Jois (Pattabhi Jois’s grandson) directly: “Who created Surya Namaskara A & B?” I asked. His answer was clear:
Pattabhi Jois created them.
Sharath acknowledged that the original sequences (four at first) were developed primarily by Jois, with some collaboration from Krishnamacharya. Later, as Ashtanga expanded into a more structured series, it was done with Krishnamacharya’s blessing. I realized it was not ancient or “traditional” in the way I had been led to believe.
For years, I had practiced, taught, and defended Ashtanga’s lineage, convinced it was sacred, unchanged, and passed down from antiquity. This was simply not true.
The Rot at the Core of the Ashtanga Community
As my research expanded, I delved deeper into Ashtanga’s modern history and its influence on vinyasa yoga. That’s when I uncovered something even more disturbing than the fabricated origins of the practice:
The very people who shaped modern vinyasa yoga were also the ones protecting Pattabhi Jois while he sexually assaulted students.
Many senior, highly respected Ashtanga teachers actively shielded Jois from scrutiny:
- They built empires around a culture of gaslighting, complicity, and denial.
- They controlled access to the Mysore Shala, barring photographers and videographers who might “misunderstand” what was happening.
- They dismissed and silenced survivors.
- They prioritized protecting the school and their careers over acknowledging the abuse.
Complicity Takes Many Forms
Not every senior Ashtanga teacher actively shielded Pattabhi Jois. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t complicit. Complicity isn’t always about direct action. Complicity is about the ways people choose to ignore, reinterpret, or deny harm when it’s happening right in front of them.
- Some teachers looked the other way, pretending they didn’t see what was happening.
- Some reframed Jois’s abuse as “adjustments” or “cultural misunderstandings.”
- Some downplayed survivors’ experiences, convincing themselves that what they had witnessed wasn’t “that bad.”
- Some outright denied reality, insisting that Jois was incapable of harm—even as survivor after survivor came forward.
This isn’t a matter of opinion. It’s documented—through testimonies here, and here, through the stories of those who were harmed, and through the silence that still lingers in the Ashtanga world today.
The truth is, it didn’t take a community of enablers to uphold Jois’s abuse—it took a community of people who were willing to ignore, minimize, and deny what they saw
Why I Walked Away
At that point, I had a decision to make: Finish the book and expose the truth, outing longtime friends and colleagues in the process…Or walk away.
I chose to walk away. I deeply loved and cared for many of the people involved and knew the consequences of exposing them. It was easier to let go of the project than to untangle the deep web of complicity and trauma that would come with telling the whole story.
Then, when the #MeToo movement finally reached the yoga world, it became impossible to ignore the truth and yet, the Ashtanga community still refused to take real accountability.
- They mishandled the allegations against Jois.
- They dismissed the voices of survivors.
- They continued practicing under teachers who had been complicit in his protection.
I explore more about studying with male teachers and why this is not the right approach for women here
Even now, students still study with those same certified Ashtanga teachers as if they are somehow separate from this culture of abuse, silence, and gaslighting.
They are not separate. They are responsible.
But I digress.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Reading this blog it’s clear that the culture of silence, hierarchy, and unchecked authority in Ashtanga hasn’t disappeared. It has simply shifted hands, continuing to prioritize loyalty over accountability. It reminds me that silence and denial are not just relics of the past. They remain deeply woven into the fabric of Ashtanga today. Injuries are ignored, voices are silenced, and yet, the devotion remains unwavering.
Come on now.
I walked away from Ashtanga because I couldn’t continue justifying a system that demands loyalty without offering accountability. Others will make different choices. But if we’re going to keep practicing, teaching, and showing up, then the real yoga is in asking, what are you upholding? And why?
There’s so much more to say, more than a single blog post (or one, two, three) can hold. One day, I’ll write about my experience in larger project. Until then, I’ll keep speaking, questioning, and refusing to uphold a system that thrives on silence