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The yoga world lost one of its most prominent, influential, and beloved figures on Monday, May 18: Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, the Guruji of Ashtanga Yoga.  Here are the most recent updates about resources, reflections, and memorial information for this exceptional man:

-Update (5/21/09)!  It took a few days, but the mainstream U.S. media finally covered Pattabhi Jois’ passing in the form of a well-written New York Times obituary.  Sharath was personally interviewed for this piece, and some new details about the cause of Jois’ death were also revealed here.  According to the article, Guruji “had an ulcer in his throat that made it difficult for him to swallow food”.  And “in the days before he died, Mr. Jois was also struck by a urine infection and pneumonia.”

-A memorial service for Guruji has been scheduled for May 31st in Mysore, India.  The Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute announced this gathering on Tuesday morning on their website.  Exact location and time TBA…

-The local Star of Mysore newspaper in Guruji’s hometown published an obituary for him yesterday (5/19).  It’s a relatively short piece, and it misquotes Jois’ age as 94, but it’s still worth a look because it’s the first official non-”new media” coverage of Pattabhi Jois’ passing. (BTW, we have seen Guruji’s age misquoted as 94 (and sometimes 95!) in countless places around the web over these past two days. Guruji was 93 years old when he passed away – he was born 7/26/15 and he died on 5/18/09, which makes him 93 years and about 10 months old.  Just FYI.)

-The first official piece of mainstream media coverage of Pattabhi Jois’ passing!  A great article from the BBC published this morning (5/20). (Still no attention from the U.S. mainstream press yet…)

-Barry Silver, an Ashtanga teacher from New York who lives and teaches in Japan, created a touching online slideshow in honor of Guruji.

-Some of you have left some very sweet comments at the end of our ‘in memorium’ post about Guruji – we love reading them!  There are also a slew of great comments on Elephant Journal’s thorough, thoughtful post dedicated to Gurjuji’s passing.  You should check them out!

-And for you local Santa Barbarans, our Ashtanga Santa Barbara teachers Steve Dwelley and Michele Nichols have set up an altar in Guruji’s honor in room 2 of the Santa Barbara Yoga Center.  Students are welcome to bring flowers to place there if they feel drawn to do so.

-We’ll publish more updates as they arise.  Until then, practice some Ashtanga this week and dedicate your time on the mat to our beloved Guruji!