When Your Guru Is Gone: Grief, Practice, and the Tradition That Remains [VIDEO]
![When Your Guru Is Gone: Grief, Practice, and the Tradition That Remains [VIDEO]](https://metaimg.podpage.com/7sDUMBk-ZWw1tWQE6U0_PDO1zQi2mEydHuGcm1PM0j0/eyJoIjo2MzAsIm0iOiJibHVyIiwidSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vcGJjZG4xLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2ltZ2xvZ28vZXAtbG9nby9wYmJsb2cxODE2NzA3MC9GSFBfRXBfMzIxX3dpdGhfQmlhbmNhX1JhcG9zb19kZV9PbGl2aWVyYTg1MXNqLmpwZyIsInUyIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wYmNkbjEucG9kYmVhbi5jb20vaW1nbG9nby9pbWFnZS1sb2dvLzE4MTY3MDcwLzM3NjkyNjMtMTY2Nzg0NjY5ODc3Ni02MTY5OTAwNTRiNDUyLmpwZyIsInciOjEyMDB9.webp "When Your Guru Is Gone: Grief, Practice, and the Tradition That Remains [VIDEO]")
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.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- How Bianca discovered yoga in Rio de Janeiro through her grandmother
- Moving to the U.S., a teaching training scholarship, and the DVD that changed everything
- First encountering Sharath on the 2013 U.S. tour — and knowing she'd found her teacher
- Six trips to Mysore, practicing with both Saraswati and Sharath
- Navigating practice with a young child — and a supportive Polish artist husband
- Injuries, catching debates, and learning to listen to the body
- Teaching evening Mysore in Katowice, organizing family-friendly retreats
- Being present in Virginia for the Active Series launch — and the hike that ended everything
- The shock, the circle of prayer, the blanket, and the nights no one could sleep
- Life since Sharath's passing: mixed feelings, shifted priorities, community bonds
- Impermanence as the ultimate teacher — in practice, in family, and in loss
KEY QUOTES:
"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."
GUEST BIO:
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.
CONNECT WITH BIANCA:
Instagram: @biancayoga
Website: ashtangayogakatowice.com
HARMONY IS TEACHING IN PORTUGAL:
- Agora Lisboa (Lisbon) — June 25–28
- Ashtanga House Faro — Five-day immersion in Faro, Portugal – DM Harmony on Instagram @harmonyslaterofficial
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW:
Find Finding Harmony on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Podbean.
The Inner Rejuvenation Codes: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/inner-rejuvenation-codes-mc
Join the Lightworker Mastermind: https://harmonyslater.com/lightworker-mastermind
FIND Harmony online: https://harmonyslater.com/
Harmony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyslaterofficial/
Finding Harmony Podcast on IG: https://www.instagram.com/findingharmonypodcast/
FREE Manifestation Activation: https://harmonyslater.kit.com/manifestation-activation
Bianca is an Authorized Level II teacher, blessed by the Paramaguru R. Sharath Jois. It's the traditional authorization to teach the full Primary and Intermediate Sequences. She was learning directly from Guruji Sharath Jois the Advanced A sequence and Pranayama until his passing and has had the opportunity to assist her Guru in Mysore classes. She continues the learning process in Asana and Pranayama from her western teachers, recently holding a certification to teach Pranayama and deepening her studies in Vedanta and Yoga philosophy with her Indian teacher. She took her first Yoga class at the age of 18 when she still lived in Brazil and felt a deep connection to the practice within body and soul. In 2009 she moved to USA to work as a performer for RBBB Circus and few years later the seed that was planted years ago sprouted and she sincerely felt the calling to dedicate herself to the practice of Yoga. She finished her first YTT in Boone,NC. Her first Ashtanga Class was with Guruji Sharath Jois during a USA tour in 2013. She started traveling to Mysore, India in 2015 and since then has been dedicating her life entirely to the practice and studies of Ashtanga Yoga. Traveling internationally, she leads classes, privates, workshops and retreats in the traditional spiritual path of Ashtanga Yoga. She is also a mother and truly understand how family duties and practice affects one another. How discipline, commitment, devotion and dedication are the base of the practice and also the non attachments for results. Believing she is an eternal student of yoga, her joy is… Read More
