yoga

25

december 2018 / january 2019

yogajournal.com.sg

three Pune

Just as Mysore is synonymous with Ashtanga yoga, Pune is the hometown of Iyengar

yoga. As one of Krishnamacharya’s disciples, B.K.S. Iyengar was asked to spread the study

of yoga to Pune by his guruji, at just 18 years old with a mere 3 years of yoga experience.

Once in Pune, the young yogi didn’t just share his knowledge, he adapted the practice to

incorporate the use of props, such as chairs and ropes, to assist students who with limitations

and, thus, making the practice’s therapeutic benefits more accessible. Almost 40 years after

his arrival in Pune, he opened the esteemed Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in

1975.

“The Institute feels like a time capsule,” says Carrie Owerko, a Senior Intermediate Iyengar

teacher in New York City, who first studied with B.K.S. Iyengar and his family, more than two

decades ago. “It still seems somewhat untouched by all that hustle and bustle that surrounds

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it.” While B.K.S. Iyengar’s

absence after his 2014 death is

palpable, his legacy continues

in the marble-floored asana

halls adorned with ceiling

and wall ropes, wooden

props and a formidable

platform for a teacher to dole

out instructions. “This is a

place for practice and study,”

she adds. “It is not a yoga

vacation destination. It is not

an Ashram. It is an Institute,

a school for those who are

self-sufficient, industrious,

and dedicated to the practice

and study of Iyengar Yoga.”

Pune, about 90 miles east of

Mumbai, is also home to the

300-year-old Chatturshringi

Temple of the deity of Pune,

and the panoramic Parvati

Hill. For a side trip, head

200 miles northeast of Pune

to investigate the UNESCO

site Ajanta Caves, adorned

with rock-cut Buddhist

monuments. The prayer

halls and monasteries within

the caves are filled with 5th

Century AD religious art.