Nancy Gilgoff

Nancy Gilgoff was among the very first Western women to study Ashtanga Yoga with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, traveling to Mysore in 1973 with David Williams and becoming part of the founding generation that brought this practice to the West. Her journey to India began as a search for healing from severe migraines that had plagued her since childhood—migraines that would completely resolve through her dedicated practice. When Nancy asked Guruji how she should teach, he gave her advice that shaped her entire career: "Teach the way I taught you." She took this to heart, preserving and transmitting the original methods she learned when there were only a handful of Western students in Mysore. Her teaching carries the authenticity of those early days, before the practice became systematized for larger audiences. Nancy played a crucial role in bringing Pattabhi Jois to Maui and helping establish Hawaii as an important center for Ashtanga practice. She has continued teaching from her base in Maui for decades, maintaining the traditional approach while adapting to the needs of individual students. She has also studied with Baba Hare Das and practiced Rinzai Zen Buddhism. Her famous essay "Ashtanga Yoga As It Was" provides invaluable historical documentation of how the practice was originally taught—often quite differently from how it is taught today. This record preserves important knowledge about the evolution of the method and offers practitioners a window into the practice's roots. Nancy Gilgoff represents the living memory of Ashtanga's earliest transmission to the West. Her dedication to teaching "the way Guruji taught" ensures that the original spirit of the practice continues to be available to sincere students seeking authentic instruction.