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KRISHNAMACHARYA YOGA FESTIVAL -
THE TEACHERS
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Sri Pattabhi Jois
 Sri
K Pattabhi Jois, or Guruji as his students know him, was born in July
1915 in a small village in Karnataka. His learned father instructed him
in the Veda-s and Hindu rituals. When he was twelve, he attended a yoga
demonstration by Sri _T_Krishnamacharya at his school. Thoroughly
intrigued, he set out in search of Sri Krishnamacharya with whom he
practiced everyday before school for the next two years. After his thread
ceremony at the age of fourteen, he left for Mysore to study Sanskrit
with just two rupees in his pocket. In 1931, while at
the Sanskrit College in Mysore, he was reunited, after a
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with Sri_Krishnamacharya, who had relocated to Mysore.
Meanwhile, the Maharaja of Mysore, Sri_Krishna_Rajendra_Wodeyar,
instituted a yoga shala for Sri Krishnamacharya, who had cured him of a
serious illness. When his teacher
Sri T Krishnamacharya
left Mysore, the Maharaja encouraged Sri Pattabhi
Jois to teach yoga at the Sanskrit College, with scholarship, salary and
free food. The Yoga department of the Sanskrit College was founded on
March 1,1937,and was directed by Guruji until his retirement in 1973. His
professorship in Advaita earned him the most respected title of Vidwan.
In 1937,Guruji married Savitramma. In 1948 he
established the yoga institute at his home with Savitramma as his first
student. In 1964,Guruji welcomed his first Western student, a Belgian
named Andre Van Lysbeth. In 1972,the first group of Americans came, and
three years later, Guruji made his first trip to America. Today Guruji ’s
teachings have spread across the world, thanks to the dedication of his
students. In January 2003,the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute
opened its doors at Gokulam, not far from the old yoga shala, where
Guruji continues teaching in the tradition of his guru.
Sri T K V Desikachar
 Son and student of the legendary yoga
master Sri_T_Krishnamacharya, Sri_TKV_Desikachar is today acknowledged
as a great master in his own right. During his long and intensive study
with his teacher spanning thirty years, Sri Desikachar not only learned
the practice and application of all the tools of yoga, but also studied
many of the classical master pieces of yoga. These include the Yoga
Sutra-s of Patanjali, Yoga Rahasya of Nathamuni, Yoga Yajnavalkya Samhita,
Hathayoga Pradipika, Siva Samhita, and Gheranda Samhita amongst others.
He not only studied yoga with his father, but also studied Vedanta
Philosophy, Ayurveda, the rituals school called Mimamsa as well as a host
of other teachings that came from the great Indian tradition. This is why
his teaching is so close to representing the complete tradition of his
legendary father. In 1976, as an offering of gratitude to his teacher, he
founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM), as a non profit public
charitable institution to share the teachings he received from his
father. Since its humble beginning, the KYM has now come to be regarded
as one of the most respected yoga centers in the world, where people from
all over come to learn and practice the different aspects of yoga in a
secular and friendly environment. Sri Desikachar is the author of many
books on yoga and allied subjects published in recent times including
"The Viniyoga of Yoga :Applying yoga for healthy living ","The Heart of
Yoga " and "Health, Healing and Beyond ". He travels all over the world
spreading the message and benefits of yoga. Sri_TKV_Desikachar lives in
India with his family.
Sharath Rangaswamy
 Sharath Rangaswamy always knew that he would one
day follow the path of Ashtanga yoga in the footsteps of his grandfather
Shri Pattabhi Jois. Born in Mysore, India in September 1971 to Guruji ’s
daughter, Saraswathi, also a teacher of Ashtanga, Sharath learned his
first Asana-s at seven and experimented with them until he turned
fourteen. Three years of focused study earned him a diploma in
electronics. After graduation, a reluctant Sharath was repeatedly
encouraged by Saraswathi to help his grandfather in the yoga shala.
Finally,at age 19, "when God willed it," says Sharath, he began lessons
with Guruji. He would wake every day at 3:30 AM and drive to Lakshmipuram
to practice with and then assist his Guruji. Totally sincere and
disciplined, Sharath still rises at 2.00 AM six days a week, to be ready
for the first students in the new Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in
Gokulam where he continues to assist his grandfather. Sharath remains
till now the only student of Guruji ’s to have mastered all five series
of Ashtanga yoga, and is currently studying several Asana-s in the sixth
and final series.
Kausthub Desikachar
 Kausthub, the son and student of Sri TKV
Desikachar, began learning yoga when he was still a child. After
completing his dual masters degree, he committed himself to becoming a
full time student and teacher of yoga. Like his father did with his
teacher, Kausthub continues to live and study with his teacher on a daily
basis. He studies not only the application of the different tools of yoga
to suit different people, but also studies
various classical texts on yoga including Yoga Sutra-s, Yoga Rahasya and
Yoga Yajnavalkya among others. Apart from co-authoring two books ("Vedic
Chant Companion" and "Viniyoga of Yoga") with his father, he has also
authored a book on teaching yoga to children and youngsters that has been
published in French. Kausthub is currently the Chief Executive(Honorary) of the
Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM), where he is also a senior teacher
and yoga therapy consultant. Kausthub is currently pursuing his PhD, in
which he is researching the role of yoga in enhancing quality of life.
Kausthub lives in India with his wife and infant daughter and is actively
involved in social causes that take yoga to the socially and economically
under-privileged.
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KRISHNAMACHARYA YOGA FESTIVAL -
LIST OF CO-TEACHERS
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Ante Celar
Ante Celar is a student of
Kausthub Desikachar, and is the founder of "‘The Yoga Place" in
Heidelberg, Germany. He also travels to different countries within and
outside Europe to teach the multiple aspects of Yoga. Ante continues to
travel to India to broaden his studies in yoga with his teacher.
Daniel Pineault
Daniel Pineault has worked
as an R&D scientist for 20 years. He co-founded Le Yoga Centre in
Montreal, Canada and is now a full time yoga teacher. He studies with
Kausthub Desikachar in Europe and in India. A very devoted teacher, he
leads yoga workshops and conferences in Canada.
Hanna Persson
Hanna Persson is a student of Kausthub Desikachar.
Hanna has a degree as a
behavioral scientist and works
both as a stress management consultant and as a yoga teacher. She teaches
yoga both within and outside Sweden.
Isabelle Leblanc
Isabelle Leblanc is the co-founder Le Yoga Centre in Montreal, Canada and
has been teaching since 1995. Beginning her yoga training in Belgium, she
is now a student of Kausthub Desikachar in India. She is devoted to
teaching yoga in the tradition of Sri T Krishnamacharya.
Jorge Luis Knack
Jorge has studied eastern culture and Tibetan Buddhism, through which he
discovered yoga. Since then he has committed himself to yoga and pursues
it with Kausthub regularly. Along with his wife Maria, he runs a yoga
center in Brazil.
Karina Jonsson
Karina quit her job as a professional photographer
in Sweden, to become a full time yoga teacher. Beginning her yoga studies
in 1992,in Australia, she is now a student of Kausthub Desikachar, with
whom she studies every year -in India and in Sweden.
Kate Holcombe
Kate Holcombe first
encountered yoga as a student of her University India study group program
in 1991.Since then she has returned often to India to pursue her studies
with her teacher TKV Desikachar. She is the founder of the Healing Yoga
Foundation in San Francisco, where she lives with her family.
Marc Beuvain
Marc Beuvain first
discovered Yoga while still in high school and pursued it more intensely
with his teacher Kausthub Desikachar. He regularly travels to India to
continue his education with him, and is the founder of a yoga school in
France called "ecole de yoga". He teaches around the world.
Maria Cavalcanti
Maria was a student of
Vedanta philosophy when she encounterd yoga. She soon pursued yoga and
became a teacher. Her thirst for deeper studies took her to India, where
she met Kausthub and continues to study with him. Along with her husband
Jorge, she runs a yoga school in Brazil.
Pilar Enriquez
Pilar has been a student of
yoga for more than 10 years. She met Desikachar in 1995 and has since
travelled to India to pursue her studies more in depth. She is a student
of Kausthub, with whom she studies regularly. Pilar lives in Mexico where
she teaches yoga and raises her teenaged daughter.
Robert Birnberg
Robert has had a strong link
with yoga since 1976. In 1992 he was exposed to the teachings of T_Krishnamacharya and has been pursuing this with Kausthub Desikachar since
1998. He is the founder of Community Yoga, a yoga school in LA where he
lives and teaches.
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