In September of 2001, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois was not at his home
in Mysore, India. Temporarily leaving his students there to fend
for themselves, he traveled to New York, along with his wife and
two generations of his descendants, to share his knowledge and
mastery of Ashtanga yoga with hundreds of people who had come from
all over the world to learn from him.
In addition to those who would be watching, listening, learning — and sweating — at Guruji's feet was Mary Wigmore, a film
student at Columbia University, and her
associates, who came bearing cameras and microphones to produce a
documentary chronicling what might have been (but has proved not to
be) his last teaching tour.
After two years of post-production work, the result is
Ashtanga, NY. Weighing in at about forty five minutes
long, it is a combination of a visual record of the actual yoga sessions,
and testimony from various New York Ashtanga students (some being
celebrities that you would recognize) describing how they
perceive Ashtanga, what it has done for them, and their impressions
of Jois. Also prominent in the film is the grandson of Jois, Sharath Rangaswamy, who is
preparing himself for the challenge of succeeding him as the only
living master of Ashtanga when he departs this existence. He is featured
both in speaking about yoga, and in his practice sessions. Seeing him
practice, whether the watcher is a practitioner or not, one can only
say Wow!.
After its premier at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in May, I
had the privilege of seeing its third outing today at the
Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The auditorium
was packed. Presumably comprising mostly people involved in yoga in
Santa Barbara, I recognized only a few attendees, notably including
my teachers David and Andrea, who are well respected and have studied
under Jois himself in Mysore. I don't know how many in the audience,
like me, were unaware that they had attended the 2001 New York workshop,
but there was hearty laughter and rousing applause when they were
recognized on screen.
Having been practicing Ashtanga for about nine months (and still
anticipating reaching the end of the first series someday), I enjoyed the
film thoroughly. My friend Edward, who introduced me to yoga, though
he does not do Ashtanga specifically, did also. When it was over,
Ms. Wigmore thanked the audience for appreciating it and "laughing in
all the right places".
While it will not be in wide commercial release, it is being prepared
for sale on DVD, and will at some point be available for purchase
at www.ashtangafilm.com, and perhaps elsewhere online.
April 14, 2005 The DVD is now available at Amazon.com among other retailers, including, quite possibly, the "yoga" store in your town. (It is in mine.)