What does it mean to keep practicing after the loss of the teacher who gave you the practice?
In this deeply personal episode, Harmony Slater speaks with Bianca Oliviera — a Brazilian-born Ashtanga teacher now living in Katowice, Poland — about the sudden passing of Sharath Jois, the grief that followed, and how she continues to carry the teachings forward. Bianca was present at the Active Series training in Virginia when Sharath passed, and she shares her firsthand account of that day with honesty, grief, and deep reverence.
This conversation explores what happens to devotion when its outer form disappears — and why the essence of the practice, once received, can never truly be lost.
How Bianca discovered yoga in Rio de Janeiro through her grandmotherMoving to the U.S., a teaching training scholarship, and the DVD that changed everythingFirst encountering Sharath on the 2013 U.S. tour — and knowing she'd found her teacherSix trips to Mysore, practicing with both Saraswati and SharathNavigating practice with a young child — and a supportive Polish artist husbandInjuries, catching debates, and learning to listen to the bodyTeaching evening Mysore in Katowice, organizing family-friendly retreatsBeing present in Virginia for the Active Series launch — and the hike that ended everythingThe shock, the circle of prayer, the blanket, and the nights no one could sleepLife since Sharath's passing: mixed feelings, shifted priorities, community bondsImpermanence as the ultimate teacher — in practice, in family, and in loss"Each time I finish, I feel good. Something inside feels better."
"He sacrificed so much so I could practice with Sharaji because he knew it was super special and important for me."
"Nothing is forever. Not our bodies, not our communities, not our guru, not our practices."
BIANCA RAPOSO DE OLIVEIRA is a Brazilian-born Ashtanga yoga teacher based in Katowice, Poland. She discovered yoga in Rio de Janeiro and found Ashtanga after watching the Ashtanga New York DVD during a 200-hour teacher training in North Carolina. She traveled to Mysore approximately six times to practice with Saraswati Jois and Sharath Jois. She now runs an evening Mysore program and teaches online, and organizes yoga retreats with her husband and son Surya.
Website: ashtangayogakatowice.com
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