Derek Ireland

Born in Brighton, England in 1949, Derek excelled in sports and music during his teenage years. Later, in his twenties, he continued his education and started working as a manager of a punk-rock band. In his thirties, in the 70's, he was introduced to yoga. He then studied for six years at the Sivananda ashram in the Bahamas with Robert Moses, where he had his first contact with the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga method. He later found himself practicing in New York with Leslie Kaminoff, Norman Allen and Tridham Das, the team of Ashtanga Yoga teachers in the West.

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In the mid-1980s he visited Mysore and apprenticed with his guru, Shri. K. Pattabhi Jois, for several years. He founded the first Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga center in Europe in the northern part of Crete in 1989, where he would train some of the most famous Ashtanga Yoga teachers. At the same time, he traveled all over Europe offering seminars, while he was the one who established a specific teaching method. He laid the foundations of modern yoga teaching based on oral adjustments, a method that was welcomed and well integrated into Western society. In addition, he set the standard for a professional yoga teacher, setting a perfect example for all his students, who now operate schools around the world.

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Derek's charismatic presence is still an inspiration to both yoga teachers and dedicated practitioners around the world who are proud to be part of Shri K. Pattabhi Jois's genealogy.