Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009) was born in a small town in the Indian state of Karnataka, near Mysore. From a young age, he studied with the legendary yogi Sri T. Krishnamacharya, who was also the teacher of B.K.S. Iyengar and Indra Devi. Jois attended the Sanskrit College of Mysore, where he obtained a professorship in Advaita Vedanta, and taught there for forty years. During his studies, Jois taught classes with Krishnamacharya at his yoga shala in Mysore and traveled throughout India demonstrating asana. In 1948, Jois established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute at his home in Lakshmipuram and became a benchmark as a teacher in South India. In the 1960s, a Belgian named André Van Lysebeth studied with Jois and disclosed his teachings in the book Pranayama.

From that moment on, yoga students from all over the world began to travel to India to practice with Jois. In recent decades, his school has grown exponentially and his teachings have left an indelible mark on modern yoga. Jois's grandson, Paramaguru Sharath Jois, is the current carrier of this lineage and the director of the KPJAYI (Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute). Yoga Mala is the only book written by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.