The institute where we are taking yoga classes is called RIMYI (Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute), named after the late wife of BKS Iyengar and dedicated to the teachings of Iyengar yoga. It is a funny shaped building –something like a pyramid, but cut in half from the top down – located on a quiet street in downtown Pune, and contains 2 classrooms, a library, some administrative rooms, and is surrounded by a lovely courtyard. BKS & his son Prashant and daughter Geeta live in the adjoining house to the institute, so it is literally like taking classes in their home! Quite extraordinary. The institute has 1-2 classes per day, beginner to advanced level, that are attended by both foreign students (like us) as well as local Indian students. All classes are taught in English, which is fortunate for us; this is decision that the Institute made a while ago when they encouraged students from around the world to come here to study and practice. The teachers in class sometimes add some instructions in Marathi (the local language) for the local Indian students who aren’t so fluent in English, but for the most part the instructions are given in English. I find it really fun to be in class with local folks; it reminds me that the Institute an important place for travelers from far away, but also an important place for people right here in Pune.
Arriving at the Institute last Monday, we were assigned a schedule of daily classes, one per day Monday through Saturday. Monday & Tuesday mornings are class with Prashant Iyengar from 7am-9am (this early morning class requires that we have an alarm clock!) Wednesday & Saturday mornings are the women’s classes with Geeta Iyengar, which is a wonderful time to be with women and explore the yoga practices as they relate to women’s bodies and cycles. Thursday evening is Pranayama (breathing practices) class with one of the local teachers. And Friday evening is general class with Geeta.
We’ve been through a week of classes now, and I can already feel the transformative experience of being here and practicing yoga daily. The classes have been amazing. Prashant’s class last Tuesday was focused on the using the breath as a tool to explore the pose more deeply. He talked about infusing the pose with the breath in order to bring integration of body, breath, and mind. This was a new focus in the asana for me, and very interesting to explore. Geeta has been sick this week so she didn’t teach at all; instead we’ve had a series of the local Indian teachers leading her classes. I’m very impressed with the clarity & poise of these local teachers, especially Gunaaz & Raj Laxmi. They taught with such sensitivity, control, and clarity of instruction. The sequences of poses in the classes are familiar to me (similar to what I’ve learned back home from Patricia) but are just slightly different, making it interesting and challenging to learn new things.
In addition to daily classes, there is “open practice” sessions everyday at the Institute. These are 2-3 hour blocks of time when the practice hall is open and available to be used for personal practice. I attended these practice sessions everyday this week, and was inspired and invigorated by the other students in the room. It was exciting to watch how other people practiced, and especially to see how they worked with props and modifications of the poses in their own practice. Everyone is doing different things during this practice. One person might be hanging upside down on the ropes doing inversions, while another is working on her forward bends, while another is helping someone with their scoliosis. It is really wonderful to be with fellow yogis in practice (not class) and to see the dedication and effort that so many people put into their practice.
In addition, what is special about these practice sessions is that Geeta Iyengar and the other local teachers also use this time for their practice. That means that we have had the fortunate opportunity to practice alongside Geeta Iyengar. This is wonderful and in a method that is sometimes considered hierarchal, these open practice sessions are a wonderful time to simply practice together, to share our experiences. When BKS Iyengar returns to Pune later this month (he is currently out of town visiting Bellur, the town where he was born), I understand that he will also attend these practice sessions. So then we will be practicing alongside BKS as well!
The most remarkable thing to me about the Institute are all the props. Iyengar Yoga is known for the use of props to aid in reaching a pose: wooden blocks to support the hand in standing poses, blankets to support the base in inversions, wooden slant boards to lift the wrists in Down Dog or other arm balances, belts for various purposes. And while we have many of these props back home, RIMYI has so much more. They have many many custom-built objects used to support students in different poses. They have tresslers, large wooden “horses” that are used to support you in standing poses or for backbends. They have blocks of every size and shape. They have ropes hanging from the ceiling so you can hang upside down with minimal effort; for example, you can do rope Sirsasana (headstand) if your have a shoulder injury or are fatigued. They have benchs and backbenders and small tables to support you in Halasana. It has been really fun learning about the props – i.e. watching how people use them – and experimenting with using them myself. My personal goal for this upcoming week is to learn to do Sirsasana (headstand) on the rope wall.
Nadja, Pauline, and I have been really enjoying the classes and practice sessions so far, and are looking forward to more next week. We’ve been doing 2-4 hours of yoga everyday and my body is really enjoying it! With the heat (90 degrees in the afternoons) my body has easily been giving into the poses, and I am finding that I’m able to do things here that I haven’t been able to do in a while. In addition, it feels so good to be devoting this time to myself and to my practice. I feel so fortunate.
