SHARMILA
Sharmila (affectionately know as ‘Shammi’) was born in Mysore in 1969 and was blessed to have grown up in a yoga family. From an early age she and her brother Sharath started practicing yoga informally by imitating students who had come to study with their grandfather, the esteemed and world-renowned, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, known by his students as ‘Guruji’. She would demonstrate her abilities to her friends and neighbours and she and Sharath were even asked to give demonstrations at the local police department. At the age of 14, Shammi began formal instruction with her mother every day after school in her regular afternoon classes. While in school, Guruji would ride his bicycle to her school each day to bring her and her brother their home-cooked lunch. She continued practicing yoga while in college in Mysore where she received her Bachelor of Commerce degree. After working in finance for one year, she got married to Mahesh at the age of 21 and moved to Bangalore to start a family.

Sharmila has been practicing yoga continuously since the age of 14 with the exception of the first trimesters of both of her pregnancies. Her first child, Pruthvi was born in 1996 and her daughter Prakruti was born in 2002. When pregnant with Prakruti and in labour, she was doing ashtanga yoga under the guidance of her grandfather and thanks to his wisdom and the postures that he prescribed, she overcame the pain and was able to give birth to her daughter without the doctor's presence Her personal experience became a testament to how the ashtanga system and methodology can support pregnancy and prepare a woman for childbirth. One of Shammi’s specific contributions to teaching is her ability, based on first-hand experience, to guide pregnant women in the practiceof ashtanga yoga to best support them in all stages of their pregnancies. next