My trip to RIMYI in February 2020

My 2020 Trip to Pune, India

In February of 2020 I spent a month in India studying yoga at the Ramanani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India. I had been there the year before for BKS Iyengar’s Centenary celebrations and this time I felt very comfortable. Upon my return March 1st, the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, within a few weeks, yoga studios, restaurants and many other businesses shut down. We were all at a loss, having no idea how long the pandemic would last. Soon everything was on Zoom. Schools, businesses and yes, yoga classes. There have been many wonderful things about the online Zoom yoga community including being able to study with teachers around the world. I miss being “in the room”, with my teachers but I have many other options open to me now. However, I wonder when we will be able to visit RIMYI again. Here are my impressions of my last trip there.

I am having such a good time in Pune studying at RIMYI. I am writing a blog about my amazing experience and I would like to share it here!. Here are the first two weeks of impressions of my trip and more will follow. Also follow me on Instagram @caronmamu

Day 1 Settling into my apartment in the lovely neighborhood of Model Colony near the Institute. I spent the day before classes running errands; visiting RIMYI for my schedule, stopping by travel agent, Roots and Wings to pay the cab fare for my trip from Mumbai Airport the day before, walking around shopping for food and a new blow dryer and travel charger (mine blew up last night) and generally getting the lay of the land. It is February and the weather is very pleasant. Cool in the morning and evening but warmer during the day. Pune is a feast for the eyes, trucks and buildings painted in bright colors, some with writing in Hindi characters and Ramayana style art designs, women in traditional dress of all varieties, stray dogs sleeping in the streets, beautiful cows in groups of two or three wandering the sidewalks and streets, or just laying down to take a nap. There are flower markets and fruit stands, beautiful ancient banyan trees with their broad and impossibly tall trunks and high branches which send shoots to travel back down to the earth to root and draw more nutrients up to the tree strengthening it. Mr. Iyengar makes a reference to this in a description of headstand. I can’t remember where I saw that particular quote but it made an impression on me.

Everywhere there are rows of motorcycles parked, 3 wheeled motor rickshaws for hire, cars speeding and horns honking to warn you to get out of the way. I risk my life every time I cross the street and as often as possible I draw close to the elbows of locals as they cross since there is a rhythm to it which I don’t quite have down yet.

I get around mostly on foot which I enjoy but for longer trips there is Ubur which many of the rickshaws are members of. The rickshaws on Ubur are uber cheap but I usually take a car only because I haven’t been lucky enough to get a rickshaw to pick me up through Uber yet. One trip by car almost anywhere I need to go is about 100 rupees or less so just a couple of bucks. Definitely worth it when shopping for groceries or in a hurry.

Day 2 Classes begin. It’s Saturday and we had a Women’s Class at 9:30 with Rajalaxmi. I wanted to be early but of course I was not. Anyone who knows me well would not be surprised. I got in before the chant but had trouble finding a space and definitely felt like a “new student”. I had a difficult time hearing and understanding the teacher at first but I followed along and there were assistants to set me straight. We started with surya namaskar and then a 10 minute headstand! Then standing poses at the wall, forward bends and shoulder stand. It was a great class and I worked hard. Seeing myself as a new student was humbling. I was stiff from traveling and a lot of walking so it felt good to get back into my body but I know it will be very challenging month ahead. Then later in the day we had group practice for 1 hour and 45 minutes and right after that I observed a beginner’s class. Monday’s class begins at 7am. I MUST ARRIVE EARLY!!!

Day 3 – Sunday. Woke up at 4:30am, still jet lagged. That should pass in a few more days hopefully! Luckily I have a French press and bought some Starbucks coffee yesterday so I could start my day off right. Today I went to Dorabjee’s market. It’s listed in the Bobby Clennell Pune Guide and some classmates were raving about it yesterday. I bought a bunch of food and supplies I needed and some delicious samosas! There were tons of pastries and a juice bar and I got a glass of fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. It was delicious!! I’ve been surviving on snacks from home and Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. , but I hope to start cooking for myself because the kitchen in my apartment is so great. My roommates are arriving tomorrow but for now I’m on my own which is just fine while I’m so jetlagged and figuring things out. Thank goodness for WhatsApp and international data plans which make it easy for me to stay in touch with my family. I also walked around the neighborhood a lot today and found a grocery store just a few minutes’ walk from my apartment which is very convenient. There is so much to look at so I’ve been video-logging everything and taking a lot of photos. Tomorrow is a 7am class which lasts til 9 and then a 3 hour open practice. I hope I get some sleep tonight and can wake up and get out the door on time.

Day 4 – Monday Lost my keys leaving the house this morning and was desperately looking for them. I ended up grabbing another set for an incoming roommate and getting myself out the door but I was about 5 minutes late to class. Prashant Iyengar was teaching. Once I got over being mortified for being late I settled in. I love Prashant’s style of teaching. I studied with him a lot at the BKS Iyengar Centenary last year. He’s a super intellect and a humorist and a great yogi and teacher. He makes us do long holds in the poses while talking about how the pose is affecting different parts of the body, breath and mind and how the body breath and mind are affecting the pose. I can’t understand a lot of what he says because of the acoustics of the room and his accent but he has my rapt attention and somehow I get some of what he is teaching. After class I look through a selection of his books on the table in the registration area and find a book that sounds like what he was saying in class and buy it to study. Now group practice from 9am to 12. Interesting. I have a strong home practice but practicing with 100 or so others in close quarters can be intimidating. On the one hand I love watching the others doing things I can’t do and love watching new techniques but on the other hand I’m holding back a little because I’m embarrassed to try and fail in front of so many people. I know that’s not the right attitude and eventually I just do my best practice and stop worrying about it and three hours goes by.

My roommates, Ulpa and Tamara arrived and it’s nice to know who I’ll be living with for the month. Tamara has been here several times and says she is ordering tiffin service Tiffin service is paying to have individual home cooked Indian food meals delivered to your home. It costs about $2 per meal and the food is delicious. I ask if I can do the same and she gives me the cook’s WhatsApp phone number. This could be the solution to my eating dilemma. I’m eating mostly crackers and cheese, fruit and yogurt, nuts and dark chocolate and craving some real food at this point. I make arrangements for a meal for lunch for the next day. In the evening we observe a beginners class and walk home to eat dinner together. I am completely exhausted and go to bed early.

Day 5—Tuesday Tuesdays with Prashant. I was on time! Another great class and another three hour group practice. In class we are rotated in groups so that everyone gets a chance to hang from the ropes in sirsasana (headstand) and everyone gets a chance to do trikonasana (triangle) at the wall holding a rope with the back foot pushing into the wall for support. The people left in the middle of the room are instructed to do another pose. Meanwhile Prashant lectures. “Think of the breath as an internal limb. Why do you need to be told what to do? Listen to your body, mind and breath and instruct yourself on where you need to correct. You are not beginners! You come to yoga class because you want me to tell you what to do but your breath knows what to do. Your mind knows what to do. Listen to your inner teacher!”

When I was a child I was awestruck by The Beatles. I was such a fan and had I ever been in the same room with any of The Beatles I probably would have disintegrated. Today in group practice were iconic yoga teachers, Abhijata and Raya practicing in the same room as I was. I had that same feeling of being awestruck. I had to pass by Abhijata’s space when going to get props. I had that deer in the headlights moment when our eyes met, but I did not disintegrate. I just got my props and went to my spot and got back to work but that’s how the practice hall is. Full of icons. Speaking of icons, Prashant teaches that each pose is an icon, like a sacred pattern one must try to align with. It’s not just a shape to get into but a multi-faceted, multi-layered template and only after deep study of yoga can one understand the depth of each pose. How the muscles work together, how the breath inflates the pose how the mind must settle into or drive the pose. And he said many other things. I’ll try to remember as many as I can.

After practice I went home for my first tiffin service. It contained an individual portion of curry, rice, a couple of vegetable dishes and a whole wheat chapati. It was so delicious, I ordered another 10 days of meals. They will be delivered every day to my apartment. Food concerns solved!

In the evening I observed a beginner’s class. I took detailed notes of the instructions given to the beginning students and of the sequence of poses. I will observe a class every day as part of my studies at the Institute.

Day 6 – 15 I have fallen off my writing schedule because my yoga schedule is intense and I’m exhausted, napping and reading in my time off. I picked up Core of the Yoga Sutras, by BKS Iyengar, Yoga for the New Mellenium, Classwork Vol II and Discourse on Yog by Prashant Iyengar, so I have plenty of reading material. This is what my week is like. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays I have yoga class with Prashant from 7am to 9am, then group practice from 9am to 12pm. Then I go home for lunch and a little rest or shopping for groceries (tiffin is just one meal a day) and I choose an evening class to observe and that is usually at 4pm or 6pm and lasts 90 minutes. I take copious notes including the sequence of poses and instructions and corrections given by the teacher. Then I walk home for dinner with my room mates. Wednesday my class with Abhijata starts at 9:30am for 2 hours and I have a 90 minute group practice at 4pm. Friday I have a 9am-12pm group practice and a pranayama class with Prashant at 6pm. Saturday is 9:30am women’s class with Sunita. Then group practice 4pm for 90 minutes. On all of these days I try to also observe a class and I usually do. Sundays are supposed to be a day off of classes. We have a sutra study with Prashant and his nephew Shrineet who is very well-versed on the Sutras and Prashant steps in with commentary as well. It’s a little like going to church. People are dressed in other than yoga clothes, some in traditional Indian dress, and Prashant wears a handsome white ensemble, much more formal than his daily attire. We sit on the floor of the big yoga hall on bolsters and pillows and take notes.

It’s supposed to be a day free of yoga classes, but I have started taking a class on Sundays with Gulnaaz Daashti at her studio in Baner. She is a senior teacher at RIMYI who has extensive knowledge of medical treatments used in Iyengar yoga. The class is friendly, and fairly informal. It’s a “teacher’s class” where we learn to address problems of our students, but she shows us using our own weaknesses how to address the weaknesses in our students. She starts with “What are we doing today?”. Someone suggests a topic, knees, hips, standing poses, backbends, and we start with one focus and she builds the class on that. It’s very informative and she has us assist each other using Iyengar medical class techniques and observes us. Gulnaaz is friendly and open and everyone feels welcome and comfortable and not afraid to try. I also took a private class with her last week and told her I have a shoulder issue I need help with that is holding back my backbends. She gave me poses to practice and tied up my shoulders with belts in a “shoulder jacket” that gave me a lot of relief. She told me how to tie the shoulder jacket and gave me some things to do before I do backbend work. She was not afraid to push my shoulder in ways I was afraid to and she gave me confidence and good instruction. My shoulder is feeling better and I am less afraid to push myself.

These wonderful iconic teachers are all teaching Iyengar yoga but they are all very different in their approaches. I have also studied with Dr. Rajilaxmi. She is very serious and no nonsense. Prashant is cerebral and talks a lot about the self and knowing who you are, not just what you have. Abhi is a strong teacher and has a great sense of humor reminiscent of her aunt Geeta. Sunita, Geeta’s sister is serious, kind and thorough. Yesterday he kept us in a headstand for 20 minutes after doing several other headstands and a 30 minute shoulder stand. I have not had a class with Raya yet but I hear he is fierce. It is such an incredible experience to be here and have access to all of this.

The social life here is also rich. There is an easy camaraderie among the RIMYI students. You can ask someone to help you and they won’t bite you. It took me a week or so to realize I could ask for help. I see people helping each other with difficult poses and I have been offered help when I’m struggling, and I have asked for help. I have made several acquaintances and have started going for tea at the stand on the other side of the beautiful park next to RIMYI. We also gather at the coconut stand after practice. There is a man with a bag of coconuts and a hatchet. He hacks off the top of the coconut and uses the point of the blade to cut a hole for a straw. After you drink the coconut water fresh from the shell you give the empty shell back to the man and he hacks it in half and scrapes out the coconut meat and gives it back to you to eat. It’s practically a full lunch.

I met a friend here, Celine, who was here last year and staying in the same hotel as I was when I was in Pune for the BKS Centenary. She’s here from China. I recognized her this year and introduced myself. Yesterday she turned me on to a great restaurant, Vaishali, which is South Indian food. We had a fantastic lunch there. She is a popular teacher in China with her own studio.

I have the best room mates! Tamara is a senior teacher. She writes the blog every day on the Visiting Students of RIMYI Facebook site where she uncannily remembers the sequence of poses and all the instructions given in the classes she takes. It’s a rich resource. She’s also a mom and a fun girl. My other room mate Ulpa is from Pune. She currently lives in New York City but her mother lives here in Pune and she is spending time visiting with her mother, and extended family here in addition to keeping up with her rigorous schedule here. She is also a mom and a lovely person. The two of us went to an amazing Italian restaurant together the other night, Little Italy. I was not expecting excellent Italian food but there it was. We had a great night out! Ulpa is also an expert on the local scene and speaks Hindi which makes it easier to get around. She has told me where to shop for this and that. Tamara and I have been exploring the town based on some of Ulpa’s recommendations. But also, Tamara has been here six times, so she knows her way around! She showed me the pool at The Marriott, the fruit market, and we’ve been doing a lot of shopping for props and other fun stuff. Yesterday we hit the jackpot when we discovered Mrs. Vandana Sanghavi’s, Yoga Props Pune. It has excellent prices and everything you could possibly want including clothing, mat bags, benches, blocks, ropes, belts, everything. I could not help myself and ended up with a suitcase full of things for my studio! Things I have been wanting to buy in the states but they were much more expensive there. I packed light coming over in anticipation of bringing things back so hopefully I will have room for everything!

Today we visited the Either Or Store and Fabindia. We mostly just window-shopped and after we were hungry so we ended with a light late lunch/early supper at Fab Cafe atop Fabindia. I enjoyed a tall fresh squeezed sugar cane juice and a rich mushroom curry with fresh peas. Tamara was thrilled with a beautiful hot chocolate and lovely quinoa salad with fresh greens and pomegranate seeds. Tomorrow begins back bends week!!!! More to follow as it unfolds and for video and more photos, please check out my instragram @caronmamu

Day 16 Today began backbends week. Backbends are challenging and bring up fear for me but I love them anyway. I just really have to push myself beyond my general energy level in order to achieve. The teaching was well coordinated among the teachers. Prashant had us hanging in Ropes 1 to open shoulders and chest. Then in Setu bandha on the block for a long hold to open the pelvis. Sirsasana on the ropes, again a long hold to separate the vertebrae. He spoke a lot about the inner conversation we should have with ourselves as we are working to stay focused and to run through the points to be considered as if the teacher was telling us what to do. That is a big lesson here, be your own teacher. Listen to what your mind knows your body should be doing and learn self-correct. Keep the inner dialog going while you practice and it becomes a meditation.

Day 17 I took Rajilaxmi’s class on Tuesday and Abhi’s class on Wednesday. She was teaching drop backs from tadasana. Keep the weight in your legs and your upper body reaches with lightness as your legs anchor you. We dropped back to the wall, let the finger tips lightly touch the wall and then spring up to standing, only dropping as low on the wall as we could reach, not walking down from there. We dropped back to the floor using a wall rope around our hips. I could make it all the way to the floor if I went very slowly and carefully.

The last two weeks were good, although I got sick from something and couldn’t get out of bed for three days but once I was up and around I got right back to classes and practice. I had a nice group of friends from all over the world and by the last week we were frequenting restaurants together, sampling the wonderful fare offered local to that region. I’ve been too busy to write much but I have learned a lot and I can’t wait to come back here. I’m also getting a little homesick. Just in time. It’s time to go home.