Episode
When Your Guru Is Gone: Grief, Practice, and the Tradition That Remains [VIDEO]
- Podcast
- Finding Harmony Podcast
- Published
- Jun 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3796
- Processing state
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Summary
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…