Yoga guru Sharath Jois who taught Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow dies

A celebrity yoga instructor who taught stars like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow has died suddenly at age 53.

R. Sharath Jois, a fitness educator who had gained a legion of famous clients, passed away on Monday in Virginia, The Hindu has reported.

His cause of death has not been announced; he is survived by his wife and two children.

Jois' grandfather K. Pattabhi Jois was known for popularizing ashtanga yoga, and he started helping his grandfather teach it when he was only 19 years old.

He went on to become the director at the Sharath Yoga Center in Mysore, India, in 2007 when his grandfather became too old to run the school.

In recent years, he began teaching his practices in the US to a slew of stars, including Madonna, Gwyneth, and Sting.

He had embarked on a yoga teaching tour around America in October, and was in Virginia for one of the tour stops when he tragically died.

On the day of his passing, he shared footage from a class he had run at the Contemplative Sciences Center in the University of Virginia. 

He was set to head to San Antonio, Texas, this weekend; he also had workshops scheduled in Mysuru, Sydney, and Dubai in the upcoming months.

The Yoga instructor spoke about working with A-listers to Times of India back in 2006.

He said at the time, 'Whether it's Madonna, Sting, or Gwyneth, once they enrolled in the classes they've been very disciplined.

'In class, they're like any students, minus stardom and celebrity status.' 

He recalled the Goop founder 'walking into his class in New York, just to check it out,' and instantly 'getting hooked.'

As for Madonna, Jois said she had been learning ashtanga yoga for over a decade and was in the 'advanced series, the toughest of all' at the time of the interview. 

'No matter how high we rise in life, it's important to stay grounded and respect your roots,' he added.

'Only you can help yourself. Yoga does just that, it helps you find peace within. It goes beyond cutting fat.' 

Ashtanga yoga is one of the most popular forms of yoga and 'centers on a vigorous physical practice that includes a series of poses linked together with breath to form a continuous sequence,' per YogaBasics.com.

Jois told LA Yoga that the practice is just as much 'spiritual' as it is 'physical,' and that his classes are dedicated to integrating both.

'In [some forms of] modern yoga, it’s mostly acrobatics. No one knows where they are inhaling, where they are exhaling, how the posture helps our body and mind,' he said.

'They don’t know how our breathing helps our body, nervous system, and mind. But this is very important. 

'Yoga is getting popular all over the world, but there are only few people who have understood yoga well, who have gone to the roots of yoga.'