I almost did not go to the Iyengar Yoga convention, named Cultivating Freedom, held last week in Philadelphia—a historic city celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States.
Since last year, I have attended Iyengar Yoga conventions in India, Argentina, and New Zealand. This time, I wanted to gather with my American yoga friends and see familiar faces.
But effort to prioritize funds for international travel, since January 2025, I have not traveled in the United States. After some creative thinking to limit and justify my domestic travel expenses (see the bottom of the post to learn how), I went to Philadelphia to find freedom within.
I went for the experience of studying with Abhijata Iyengar and reuniting with yoga friends I see on Zoom, teachers who have meant a lot to me, and friends I bonded with in India, Montana, Asheville, and Nashville. I met a new friend from Mexico who reached out to me after finding this blog! I also chatted with a leader of the South Africa Iyengar Yoga Association about my plans to visit later this year.
I was grateful to be there.
On the third day, Abhijata led a wonderful teacher session about experiencing yoga and comparing it to taking a trip. I’ll retell it here, from memory, after five days of classes. This may not be a perfect recollection, but it’s my personal takeaway.
Abhijata asked the room of hundreds of teachers and practitioners if anyone was in aviation, and one pilot raised her hand. Abhijata asked her if she had a checklist before a flight, and the woman explained the important details of following the checklist, insinuating we all, as teachers, have checklists embedded in our training. Every step matters from the moment we hit the start button and tell students to sit up straight and put their hands together for the invocation.
“Is the joy of practice there, beyond the checklist?” Abhijata asked the room.
“Iyengar Yoga is the checklist for the flight,” she continued. “The checklist becomes a prop for the flight. Be able to give students the experience of yoga.”
She continued, if you want to take someone on a trip, you show them a photo to make them want to go there, correct? Between the checklist and the destination photo is where the experience lies. It’s our job as teachers to give our students the experience of yoga—an experience that makes them want to return and share our love for the subject.
Abhijata has an incredible way of asking questions to hundreds of students and turning her answers into stories the whole room can relate to. She gives us an experience. In turn, she teaches us yoga teachers how to give our students experiences, which keeps spreading the magic of Iyengar Yoga around the globe.
In the same session, Abhijata asked if anyone in the room worked in critical care. A Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse stepped up and grabbed the mic. Abhijata asked her questions to exemplify that in the beginning, we are all scared of our responsibilities, but with time, we become more comfortable with our skills.
My big takeaway was that this is yoga, not critical care (thankfully). We follow the Iyengar Yoga checklists and let our practice give us an experience that is fun, joyful, sometimes unpredictable, and leads to a destination within us. Where freedom is found in the mind and the body.
“When you can give your students this experience, you are ready for level 2,” she told the teachers in the room.
I am a level 1 teacher. And even if I never make it to level 2, these teachings are a great map for a life full of travels, whether it be on an airplane or a yoga mat.
For more photos and stories from the convention, follow the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States on their social media accounts.
If you are still reading… here’s more about my story.
Attending the 50th anniversary convention in India set me off on a pilgrimage around the globe to visit 50 countries in 50 years and experience new freedoms after spending two decades as a full-time stay-at-home mom to four daughters.
I consider myself a half-nester now, with two daughters living at college and two at home. These days, I have plenty of drivers to give me a lift to the airport.
In January 2025 I was at the Bellur Iyengar Yoga Center in India, attending a workshop with Prashant Iyengar (son of BKS Iyengar) with yoga students from every corner of the world. We were all there practicing values of non-harming, letting go of attachments, and creating balance within ourselves through yoga. We all had looming concerns (some had left war-torn communities to visit India). Acceptance was easier to practice there.
Waiting in Bangalore to board a flight home, I downloaded the Times of India app, read what the rest of the world was saying about the United States, and vowed to travel internationally as much as possible in the next four years.
50 Countries in 50 Years Recap
- I have visited 48 countries since I was 18 years old.
- India was country 26.
- Argentina was country 30.
- New Zealand was country 42.
- I celebrated my 50th birthday in New Zealand.
- I’ll visit country 49 in August.
- I’ll visit country 50 in November.
- For all my India posts, read here.
- To read my 50 in 50 post, read here.
Creative spending to justify US travel
- I found a cheap Airbnb that I’ll pay off using my Capital One VentureX credit card points.
- I did not buy anything in Philly except vegetarian meals, which I put on my United Airlines Chase credit card, offering 5x the miles on dining out this month.
- My American Airlines flights were $500. I booked using my AA Citi credit card and maximized my reward miles, earning a total of 5,500 miles. I have AA Gold status, which earns me double miles on economy seats.