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50 Years, 50 Countries, and One Mat: Iyengar Yoga in New Zealand

Why fly halfway across the world to attend an Iyengar Yoga Convention?

It’s a fair question with answers rooted in a milestone and a mission.

I am on a quest to visit 50 countries while I’m 50. To achieve this, I’m visiting 12 new countries in 2026, following 13 new countries in 2025! Follow my Instagram for posts on each country.

When mapping out my 2026 travels, I wanted a strategic plan for meaningful experiences, including Iyengar Yoga, rather than simply collecting passport stamps.

As a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher, I have studied at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in India, which requires a month’s stay.

As a mom with children both at home and in college, I can’t manage that every year, as many teachers do. However, I can reclaim my sense of adventure as my four daughters gain independence.

Since 2022, I have been taking weekly classes on Zoom with Abhijata Iyengar (the granddaughter of B.K.S. Iyengar), and for now, spreading out my studies virtually, physically, and globally feels right.

While soul-searching with a dozen travel books spread across my living room, contemplating which countries to visit in 2026, I emailed the office at RIMYI, asking, “Where will Abhijata Iyengar be teaching in 2026?”

When the Iyengar Yoga New Zealand convention opened registration to foreigners, I signed up.

Even though it’s across the world, a two-week trip is more feasible than a month’s stay in India.

Did you learn anything amazing today?

While I did yoga in Auckland, my travel buddy explored the North Island. When we met for dinner, she asked, “So, did you learn anything amazing today?”

It’s a difficult question to answer. I learn things that feel comfortably familiar, yet each session offers the potential for profound yoga teachings to penetrate deeper.

The convention in New Zealand was small, offering a rare opportunity to learn from Abhijata alongside 145 students at the Te Mahurehure Cultural Marae in an Auckland suburb. The convention began with a traditional Māori welcome ceremony, a stark contrast to an upcoming convention in the US where 800 students will practice in a massive hotel ballroom.

To prepare for the Māori welcome ceremony, the Te Mahurehure Cultural Marae provided yoga participants with instructions and a video of the welcome song, so we could sing along.

When Abhijata welcomed us, she pointed out the similarities between the Māori welcome and how we begin our practice with a chant to Patanjali, the Indian sage who authored the Yoga Sutras, a classical yoga text dating to 200 BCE to 200 CE.

As the only American in the room, I felt comfortable, welcomed, and grateful to be there. Abhijata was approachable and welcomed questions from students after class.

In our first session, Abhijata spoke about why teachers must help students experience yoga, not just do yoga. We worked in pairs on Utthita Trikonasana and Ardha Chandrasana, adjusting one another to find space and freedom. This exercise demonstrated how we should work with our own students to provide this experience of yoga.

It’s these experiences that draw students in and encourage them to return, eventually developing a practice that can lead them to true alignment of body and mind.

I had practiced these same partner adjustments taught by Abhijata before in India and Argentina, but this time, I practiced them with greater clarity, having gained more awareness for sensitivity and exploration in my own practice from studying with Abhijata, Prashant Iyengar, and other teachers from RIMYI.

Abhijata emphasized that, as teachers, we should teach, observe whether students are understanding, and adjust if they are not. These skills come from dedicated practice and cultivating awareness of the methodology designed by B.K.S. Iyengar.

This lineage is not a formula to be memorized.

To illustrate this point, after two separate students asked Abhijata questions about specific feet placement in standing poses based on YouTube recordings of B.K.S. Iyengar teaching, she reminded everyone that you don’t know what was going on with that person or why he was doing it that way, explaining that he had many reasons for doing different things.

“You want to copy and paste Guruji, you practice for 14 hours a day,” Abhijata said.

Learning from this Lineage Is Amazing

Abhijata is passing down the classic teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar with a freshness and enthusiasm that feels as relevant today as it did to those who studied with him long before either of us were born. Learning from this lineage is truly amazing.

My ongoing yoga studies are an intentional journey of observing my practice and my life evolving together, as I allow my mind and heart to learn from my experiences.

The wisdom Abhijata skillfully weaves into her teachings feeds my inspiration to use asanas and the philosophy of yoga to guide my awareness and observe how this inner work within me goes beyond my time on earth.

In New Zealand, I felt more prepared to receive these teachings than duirng previous studies in my life.

The Journey to 50

My quest to visit 50 countries began in January 2025 with my trip to India, country number 26. Since then, each journey has included multiple destinations. This time, I paired New Zealand with Australia, where I attended a freediving retreat and scuba dived with leopard sharks and mantas.

Boarding the plane to Australia meant I would have visited every continent except Antarctica. If you’re doing the math, yes, I plan to visit 25 new countries in two calendar years, reaching 50 countries while I am 50. Follow my Instagram for posts on each country.

In New Zealand, I turned 50 the day before the convention began. I celebrated by frolicking in the vineyards of Waiheke Island, feeling young at heart. At the convention, I was—and always am—joyfully inspired by yoga practitioners in their 70s still doing headstands in class.

Samadhi isn’t reached through milestones, missions, or age, but glimpses of inner peace can be discovered along the way. From my 20s to age 50, my yoga practice continues to travel with me—through motherhood, across oceans, and to new continents.

New Zealand was country number 43. My yoga mat has accompanied me to every country since India in January 2025, even onto a scuba diving boat in the Maldives! In two weeks, it will tour Southeast Asia with me.

If all goes according to plan, I’ll attend the Iyengar Yoga Convention in South Africa in November as country number 50.

Then, the next time I return to India, I will have literally traveled around the world with my yoga mat.

This is my Jade travel yoga mat  Placed out for my a morning practice at my incredible Airbnb in Auckland, New Zealand. Love this mat!

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50 Countries in 50 Years. Can I do it?

My brain is full of loosely mapped out travel plans waiting for the right time to make them a reality. While I was in India doing yoga for a month, I decided now is my time to take big trips.

Before my aging parents get older, before college kids graduate, have real jobs, and start planning weddings, not when Brian retires and we have more time, not after we save more money. Now is the right time, while we can still hike down a mountain of stairs wearing a scuba tank and ski in Eastern Europe using T-bars, while we can still do anything our kids can do.

Without much discussion with anyone, lying in my bed on Hare Krishna Mandir Road , I booked a Spring Break trip to Morocco and wondered if I could get to 50 countries in 2026, the year I turn 50.

India was country number 26. I’m now on country number 43, so yes, I’m tracking to hit 50. Which means visiting 25 countries in two calendar years!

In February I spent my 50th birthday free diving in Australia and going to the New Zealand Iyengar Yoga Convention, with Abhijata Iyengar (from India) teaching.

In March we are conquering five countries in Southeast Asia as a family of four, over 24 days.

Stay tuned for the last two surprises!

Follow me Instagram, where I’m documenting each country to 50!

Scuba diving in the Maldives in August 2025.

50 Countries in 50 Years… The List

Countries are listed by the first year I visited them. I am only counting sovereign countries listed by the UN. Repeat visits are not listed.

For example, recent(ish) scuba trips to Mexico, Bahamas, Little Cayman, and Bonaire do not count. Nor does our honeymoon in Bermuda or the Faroe Islands from our 20 in 20 Anniversary Trip.

1994: Bahamas – My high school senior trip.

1998:France, Monaco, Italy – Study abroad with Brian.

2001:United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic – Brian’s grad school study abroad summer.

2003: Ireland – Our last pub crawl before having a baby.

2005: Mexico – With baby Haiden.

2013:Norway – With three girls under age 10.

2017:Dominican Republic – With baby Esther!

2019:Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia – Our 20th anniversary trip, with four kids.

2021:Belize – My first time scuba diving.

2021:Canada – Christmas spent with Northern Lights.

2022:Cuba – Was originally planned for March 2020.

2023:Finland– Christmas skiing in -10 degrees.

2024:Costa Rica – A Spring Break road trip.

2025:India, Portugal, Morocco, Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Grenada, United Arab Emirates, Maldives, St. Lucia, Dominica, Croatia, Bulgaria

2026: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Australia, New Zealand

I’m currently at 43 countries! I have flights booked for five more countries in March. Follow each country on Instagram.

The Backstory

Mexico in 2005 with Baby Haiden.

When I became a mom at age 28, it felt like the most important job in the world to me. Brian, then 32, had a good income, while my freelance writing gigs didn’t pay enough to justify childcare. So, I let go of my dream of being a travel writer and stayed home – and became Simply Natural Mom. I used cloth diapers, made laundry detergent and had backyard chickens. I nursed babies for more than a decade.

In 2013, we visited friends in Norway with the kids. I’d just had my second miscarriage and was deciding whether to try for another baby or reignite my passion for travel. Walking through Oslo with six children one afternoon, I realized I could do both: have four kids and travel the world. And we did!

Esther had a passport before she could even sit up for a photo. We took her to the Dominican Republic as a baby. Somewhere, a car seat request got lost in translation with a driver, and they brought a car seat for the boat!

When Esther was three and Haiden in 8th grade, we took the girls to London and Paris to meet our French host family from my 1998 study abroad program. Lydia was participating in an exchange program with French art students via Zoom (before it was widely known), and that opportunity sparked the trip to Paris.

Brian had started his own business, finally giving us more flexibility to travel.

Then Covid hit. Haiden was diagnosed with Anorexia, making life less flexible. We continued to visit new countries, even during Covid, but long-haul travel wasn’t an option.

I’ve navigated canceled trips and the frustrating depths of travel insurance claims, sometimes shedding tears at my computer. I’ve traveled to a remote island in Belize with a suitcase full of packaged snacks, nervous about managing a week of scuba diving without a grocery store.

During Covid, we took countless tests to hop around Canada, risking non-refundable destinations like a Northern Lights lodge on Christmas Eve in Yellowknife. In Banff, Esther was the only ski school kid allowed to stay for lunch because she was the only vaccinated child, as Canada didn’t yet have the vaccine available for kids.

Through it all, we travel. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.

Now, both college-aged daughters are thriving, and I feel comfortable globetrotting while they’re stateside.

Lydia, age 16, is the easiest teen to travel with title. She appreciates the finer things, like a face mask in her carry-on for a 10-hour flight, and calling flight attendants from her middle seat between sleeping sisters for extra snacks in the middle of the night. Give her hotel slippers, and she’s a happy traveler. Esther, at 10, is a worldly and self-sufficient child who can do anything we can.

So yes, now is the time to wander the world.

I might even fill up my passport!

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Now is a great time for Iyengar Yoga

Realizations from RIMYI 50th Anniversary Celebration

In January, among the impressive flowers and celebration memorabilia on display for the 50th Anniversary of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India, was a timeline of historic photographs dating back to 1975 when RIMYI opened. The photos featured the early days with Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, his daughter Geeta and son Prashant at the institute alongside international and local students including his granddaughter Abhijata Iyengar, a senior teacher at the institute today.  

While looking at the timeline that paralleled my own life that began in 1976, I imagined where I was during those times on the other side of the world. When I got to photos in the early the 2000s, I thought about my four daughters. I calculated their ages to the photos that I was looking at and tried to remember what my life looked like then. 

It felt profoundly special to be present at the RIMYI 50th Anniversary Celebration. A part of me felt sad, that I missed the opportunity to visit India when BKS Iyengar and Geeta were alive.

Abhijata was trained by her grandfather, Geeta and Prashant. She is a living link to the Iyengar lineage. She is an intelligent leader, a precise teacher who spreads joy, and a mother. I began taking weekly Zoom classes with Abhijata in 2022. In Pune at RIYMI, her class felt familiar and welcoming.

Some people attending the 50th Anniversary were at RIYMI for many events on the photographic timeline. Such as senior teacher Chris Saudek from LaCrosse Wisconsin, who took her first yoga trip to RIMYI in 1980. I was four years old then.

Chris, now 75, teaches a weekly advanced yoga class on Zoom that I have been taking for two years. She weaves in stories and teachings from her studies with BKS Iyengar, Geeta and Prashant, offering a solid bridge from the past to the present. From India to the US.

I discovered Iyengar yoga in my mid 20’s and then prioritized full-time motherhood during the years when BKS Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar were alive and still teaching. When Geeta died in December 2018 my girls were 4, 9, 12 and 14. It was the year I built my home yoga studio and moved my practice out of my living room. Before Covid brought everything to a halt.

I’ve been on a lifelong study of Iyengar Yoga full of twists and snags that teach me acceptance and awareness that things always work out. Abhijata, along with senior teachers like Chris, are bridging decades of yoga and showing us why the teachings of BKS Iyengar still matter today. 

Prashant, who is sill teaching at RIYMI and online, shines valuable wisdom and light on the roots of yoga with important insight from India, as life evolves there too.

Iyengar Yoga gives us knowledge to feel how our actions are connected so we don’t just do and do and do. It teaches us to move internally and externally with intention and discipline. While having the awareness to observe the mind without judgement. This work can take a lifetime to deeply understand.

We gain nothing by clinging to the past or living for the future. So I’m choosing to embrace the present, because it is definitely a great time for Iyengar Yoga. 

In 2025 we have incredible teachers to learn from and the technology to study in so many ways. I am grateful I can experience Iyengar Yoga at home, through podcasts, in India, in Nashville, in Argentina… and on Zoom.

It was a packed house waiting for Prashant to speak and the festivities to begin at the RIMYI 50th Anniversary Celebration.
A packed hall at the RIMYI 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Watch and read more about the RIMYI 50th Anniversary Celebration, the classes, and experiences

Realizations from Bellur and Prashant Iyengar

The practice hall at Bellur Iyengar Yoga Center.

After the anniversary celebration and two weeks of classes in Pune, Prashant Iyengar offered a four-day intensive in Bellur, a village an hour from Bangalore where BKS Iyengar grew up. To support the local area BKS Iyengar developed a trust in Bellur which built a school, hospital, university and yoga institute.

It is one of the most remote towns I have visited. Going there deserves a separate post on remote travel and how these experiences deep into unknown places change me and the adventures I crave.

I knew very little about Bellur. But like my mentor Aretha McKinney said during a workshop last weekend in Nashville, “If you ever get the chance to study with Prashant, you go!”

I went to Bellur with Aretha and we shared a dorm room at the institute. I was grateful to have her as my travel buddy, and my mentor.

I was probably the least experienced student there. It was small a group of about 100 students. With a pretty even mix of Prashant’s local students and esteamed teachers representing all the continents except Antartica.

At RIYMI, BKS Iyengar, Geeta and now Abhijata trains teachers to teach yoga. But not Prashant. He is a philosopher who teaches yoga. He discussed this during an episode of On The Light podcast, where he summed it up by saying training up teachers is “not my cup of tea.”

After intense studies focused on passing my teaching assessment in Fall of 2023, I went to India in search of a long interrupted time to be a student. It was wonderful because with Prashant, because everyone was there to be a student.

Studying with Prashant at the Bellur Iyengar Yoga Center and visiting the village of Bellur was incredibly special and deeply transformative. His teachings brought new light to my decades of curiosity and practice, inspiring me to explore yoga and oneself more freely. The more months that pass since I was there, the I more I realize this.

Prashant has a brilliant way of relating the antient teachings of yoga to today’s modern world. I am honored to have studied in his presence. And to have to toured of Bellur, the school, the hospital and the village to see the wonderful impact BKS Iyengar has here.

School children preparing for a celebration in Bellur.

Realizations at home , after India

After a month away from home, re-entry into daily life of activities and logistical management for a family of six was waiting for me. I’m an experienced traveler and can bounce back into our routines without missing a beat. This time I found myself wanting the rhythm to slow down. I wanted to reflect on India, prioritize my daily practice, and keep the emotional harmony that yoga effortlessly creates when I make enough space for it.

At home there are slivers of time and sometimes hours, to go deep into my practice. And there are many things that can pull me away. Someone forgets a lunch, a friend needs a last minute birthday gift, school projects, the HVAC guy is coming, the cats need a vet appointment, weekend trips to see college kids pop up, a teen a needs a ride, dentist appointments, new seasons brings new needs, new anxieties creep in, someone needs a hypothetical anchor, Halloween brings 1500 trick or treaters, I get wanderlust and start trip dreaming on Google. At home I can be pulled in many directions. Sometimes within my control. Sometimes not.

But when I go somewhere else to do yoga, I have the gift to just focus on yoga. To truly go inward, on a separate journey, with less distractions. And with the luxury of knowing things will be okay when I’m gone. Or at least okay enough. That was a special part of being in India for a month.

By spring 2025 I was craving more in person teachings and more of India. In May Abhijata was teaching at the Argentina Iyengar Yoga Convention. I knew about it because I met the Argentina Iyengar Yoga Association (AIYA) leader in India and she told me I was welcome to come. So, I went!

The bus I took to yoga in Buenos Aires! It was amazing.

Realizations from Argentina and Abhijata Iyengar

I don’t speak Spanish. Not even a little. To register and sign up for the Argentina Iyengar Yoga Convention I had to Google Translate everything. To stay in the loop, I joined AIYA. I still enjoy translating the newsletters and emails to follow what the AIYA is doing because the energy within this young organization is inspiring!

BKS Iyengar taught in English, to help populate the spread of yoga. And because, the UK ruled India, English was taught and used when Indians didn’t speak the same Indian language. Therefore, it’s easy to travel and study Iyengar Yoga if you speak English. Translators are provided from English to the local language.

At the convention, the AIYA was celebrating its first-time certifying level 2 teachers, and handing out a fresh batch of level 1 teaching certifications. When Abhijata addressed the group of newly certified teachers, it made me realize as yoga practitioners, we are all in a new chapter of this ever-evolving path of yoga – no matter where in the world we live. Or how long we have been doing Iyengar yoga.

It was then, In Argentina, when I decided to let go of my sadness that I missed out on trips to India while I was busy being a mom. Because NOW IS a GREAT time to be a student of Iyengar Yoga.

Yoga can be done in a local studio, in a living room on zoom, or traveling around the globe. I’m grateful to have Abhijata as a teacher, who is a mom, and a youthful spirit sharing her deep knowledge of traditional yoga in today’s world.

Moving Forward with Iyengar Yoga

In 2026 I plan to attend Iyengar Yoga conventions in New Zealand, the US, and South Africa, to continue my studies with Abhijata. Traveling as a mom is a delicate balance of time away and financial decisions. But I’ve learned from my travels to 11 countries in 2025, the world is not as big as you may think!

When I realized I could spend my 50th birthday doing yoga in New Zealand, I messaged the NZ Iyengar Yoga Association on Instagram and asked how to register as an international student.

Upon seasons of reflection, a month in India and a journey to Argentina – I believe the next 50 years of Iyengar Yoga will be just as great as the last 50 years.  AND, I believe it’s possible that at the 75th anniversary of RIYMI, I could be one of the teachers who has been coming to Pune for 25 years.

Ways to find Iyengar Yoga

If you are lucky to live in a city with an Iyengar Yoga studio and teachers dedicated to Iyengar Yoga, GO take classes and support these studios. Find a mentor and stick with them. Sign up to receive studio emails, watch for weekend workshops and travel opportunities.

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Everyday life and local gems from Pune, India

For three weeks I had amazing experiences on my first trip to Pune, India. While that was six months ago, I still deeply enjoy reflecting on my days there. It’s been summer break and home has a revolving door of young adults and kids filling the kitchen, porch, basement and pool.. Living through the organized chaos that comes with being a mom of four probably helped me feel at home in the liveliness of India.

During these summertime days my practice fluctuates with regularity but keeps a steady sense of discipline. Somedays I do zoom class with Abhijata Iyengar from RIYMI. Sometimes I listen to the podcast On the Light (it’s amazing) while making dinner. Some nights before bed, I read an online book club featuring the Tree of Life. When I find bonus moments of quiet, I come here. All of them bring back to India. And the practice of yoga. 

In India, everything awakens the senses to life in new ways. Every rickshaw drive, every walk down the street, every yoga class holds the possibility for new awaking. Going for the first time was the ultimate journey. Exotic, chaotic, polluted, beautiful, joyful, simple, and full of friendly people thriving in the chaos. Or at least trying. Locals work hard and labor is real. I loved waking to the sounds of the elderly ladies sweeping the streets. There was a rhythm to it that felt mindful and peaceful – one sweep at a time. Mornings provided a quiet break from relentless construction noise on Hare Krisna Mandir Road.

The sidewalks adjacent to Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIYMI) now have shiny signs previewing the luxury towers being built. Around the corner, skinny sacred cows napped on the sidewalks. Small children still walk between the rickshaw traffic, begging for money. Whole families still ride on one motorbike with no helmets.

The juxtaposition of new and old is not only present in the Pune, the realities are also right in front of you. There are Westernized coffee shops, nice restaurants, a gourmet grocery store and a shopping mall.

Here’s me getting a lesson on making South Indian Filter Coffee at Godaam coffee shop, where Iyengar students frequently meet. It’s quite different from my coffee experience on my walk through the Old City.

Local scenes from the streets

The two week yoga intensive was held at a gym 15 minutes away from where we stayed near the institute in Model Colony, so our daily commute gave us plenty to experience.

While traveling about, classic pune scenes were easy to spot. Locals wear puffy coats since it was “winter” there in January – while I was sweating in my breathy linen shirts! Men on foot pushcarts of heavy goods through the streets. Children walking home from school.

We stayed next to an international school. Once I got a glimpse of the all the children in uniforms packed into a small yellow van used as a school bus. It was so full they all stood inside while their backpacks rode on top. They were joyfully chatting it up like excited school kids do when it’s time to go home. I wondered where they put their bags in monsoon season.

I didn’t capture that moment on my camera, but I had my camera ready when I saw these smiling school kids one day after yoga class.

There are so many street markets. Everywhere. You can get anything here. Including a fresh coconut after yoga class! And amazing flowers.

Teachers who have been coming to Pune for decades talk about how they have seen the town change and develop. My teacher Aretha remembers the same coconut seller outside the institute as long as she’s been coming to Pune.

I’m new on the scene and today is all I know. But I love seeing things that spark my imagination of what it would have been like in the 70s, when the Hippie Trail first brought travelers and aspiring yogis to India.

I love this photo of a trash truck.. yes TRASH truck. Reminds me of the “good old days” senior teachers talk about. When locals all rode their bikes and students watched beautiful sunsets, before the pollution of today.

Sunita the Seamstress

One of the first things I did when I got to Pune, was visit a seamstress who is known in the Iyengar Yoga community for making clothes for visiting students. Sunita is preserving the art of handmade Indian clothing. She is honest, kind and an amazing seamstress. If you are in Pune, go see her! If not, follow the link to her on Instagram. Her videos detailing her newest creations make me smile.

I ventured there solo and she communicated with me on What’s App until I found her shop tucked away in the basement of an office building. Later, my friends and I made several more stops there, having items made for us. Here is one outfit she made for me.

Meeting Sunita was a local treat. I made one last stop by her shop to pick up a gift of local honey she asked me to bring back to the states and mail to a friend at the Dallas Iyengar Studio. And I took this gem of a photo. Here’s the men working for her! They were all happy to have thier photo taken. This is what I call supporting the local people.

The Model Colony Post Office

The post office in Model Colony was an experience! Like you can imagine, it’s been there forever. Sadly, there is talk that it might be torn down soon. My teacher Aretha used go here to mail daily letters home to her daughter when she came for a month at a time. That was before we had smart phones and instant communication. Her daughter is now 23 years old.

We had a short window of time between yoga classes and we were hoping to have time for a cup of coffee. But when we got there, a worker put a sign up saying they were closed for lunch. So we waited… 45 minutes for them to open back up. We waited and people watched. As people do.

I addressed my letters and sealed them with the provided glue. There are no lick and go envelopes in India. Paste. A literal jar of paste.

This was the last time I saw my letters. Not a single one made it to the our Tennessee mailbox! The journey to the post office was definitely worth the effort, even if we went without an afternoon coffee. A friend mailed a gift to a work colleague who lives in India. And that was successful. Maybe my effort was a little far reaching. At least for today. Who needs a post office anymore?

Not me. Really…. Here’s a photo my oldest girl texted me from her dorm room. She was showing me “her” vintage jean jacket – that I rescued from a closet in my parent’s house on my last visit there. A real blast from the past. In a surreal way, as I stood in a nearly obsolete post office in India.

Just for fun, here’s a picture of the mall in Pune, that doesn’t look too far removed from the one in Atlanta where I bought that jacket in the late 1980s. In Pune the colliding of the new and the old is wild on a multiple levels. Crossing a few decades. And maybe a few oceans too.

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Museums, Uber and Scenes of Pune, India

Pune is home to the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) and I am a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT). So naturally, I wanted to learn more about Pune, located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.

On my first day in Pune, I toured The Old City which made me want to visit the Aga Khan Palace next. On Day two I got settled into Hare Krishna Mandir Road, home to RIMYI and the Geeta Home Stay, where I stayed for three weeks.

When I travel I don’t research a lot about places before I visit them, other than necessary logistics. I prefer to experience countries with a fresh eye and limited expectations. India is a little different. I have poured effort and passion into studying Iyengar Yoga for the last ten years. I was ready to immerse myself into the culture, learn more about the country, and have a life changing experience.

Nothing quite prepares you for seeing the poverty, pollution, goats eating trash in the ally and bone thin cows moseying across the streets. Or for the toddlers on motorcycles squished between parents (no helmets of course). Or the elderly men pushing heavy carts of goods, by foot, through crowded streets. It’s all sightseeing. Everyday. It’s all part of India. And I saw it all on my second day there, on the way to a grocery store on my first rickshaws drive. Traveling solo.

Everyone I met was kind and helpful. Once during my trip I left my wallet in a rickshaw. I noticed it was gone when I went to pay inside a market. When I came out, the driver had come back to find me, and to return my wallet. I tried to tip him and he would not accept it. He smiled very large, as I expressed my heartfelt thank you. And that was all I could give. Kindness and appreciation.

I was visiting India in January, in the weeks leading up to the inauguration of President Trump. Everyone’s kindness meant a little more to me than usual. Experiencing the peace among the chaos, crowds, noise, and the poverty – made my heart content.

Lately I have really been thinking about our housemate from Israel. Standing in our shared kitchen the day I met her, she looked at me and said very seriously, “I don’t like him. But If he can stop the war, that’s all I care about.” Bombs were going off in her hometown, at least one of the days while we were there.

As yoga practitioners, we do our best to honor the eight limbs of yoga, the Yamas, and non-harming. Many choices that were (and still are) happening in the United States are difficult to accept. Being India in January meant I could be in a different place. I was taking it ALL in, and grateful to be there.

The Aga Khan Palace

My time wondering around the Aga Khan Palace imagining life in a country with a peaceful leader fighting for all beings, across the caste system, was a pleasant escape.

The Aga Khan Palace was built in 1892 and includes a memorial museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was imprisoned in the palace during his famine strike that marked the end of India’s freedom struggle to win independence from Great Britain in 1947.

It stands as a national monument of India’s freedom movement and Gandhi’s ashes are preserved in the garden. The architecture of the palace is beautiful. The gardens offer a peaceful sanctuary from the busy city. But the museum detailing Gandhi’s part in India’s long, peaceful fight to gain independence is a must see for visitors in Pune.

Walking through the museum felt meaningful. It was inspiring to learn about a this time in history when the Indian people were unified through seeking peace, Hindu prarys to remove obstacles, and fighting without arms.

I don’t want to sound too idealistic. It didn’t take long for me to realize the lack of women on India’s streets, and to recognize the male dominant society. Once home, I read the book, “May You Be The Mother of a Hundred Sons.” A documentary about women in India that I highly recommend, written by journalist Elisabeth Bumiller and published in 1991.

At the Aga Khan Palace, I was once again the only blond haired foreigner there. And I’m tall. So I stick out and up! The grounds and the palace were peaceful and not crowded the day I visted. Walking around offered a time of reflection, while also allowing myself to be fully present. 

I was quietly engrossed in reading the timeline of Gandhi’s leadership. And I did not notice the group of Indian women watching me. Then an elderly women in a pink shaw caught my attention and said sweetly asked “pic?” Two women traded iPhones, taking group photos with me so they each had one with themselves in the group. Before we ended our time, I asked them to take one with my camera and they repeated the same swap system so I had a photo of all the women, with me. 

There was no one else in the large open the room. We smiled and nodded, while being equally curious about each other. It was just me, with these beautiful Indian women who didn’t speak English. But the communication between us held a connection I’ll always remember. 

Using Uber to get around

When I checked into the Geeta Homestay, the owner Supriya helped answer all my questions about the area, and assured me that my plan to Uber around solo was safe. But to be back before dark.

Since I was going across town solo to visit the Aga Khan Palace and into The Old City to visit the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum – on very congested polluted roads – I used Uber and chose the highest level “Luxury” car option in India. Still cheep. But better for a woman traveling solo.

In the Model Colony area around RIYMI, taking an Uber auto rickshaw was my favorite way to get around! This silly video was of my first Uber ride, going to the grocery store.🛺

I’m grateful for Uber because it eliminates the language barrier and challenges of giving directions to drivers. An international data plan allows me follow my own Uber app to double check the driver is taking me where we are supposed to go. Plus payment is electronic which means no haggling.

The Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum

From the palace I went to the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, home to an extensive and eclectic collection of folkloric and spiritual artifacts from all parts of India. I wondered around for an hour. I could have stayed longer but my plan was to make it back to RIYMI to observe evening classes.

The museum is set up on three levels, with one way in and one way out. At one point, I did nonchalantly stick near a British man and his son, when I started to feel uncomfortable being a solo woman there. Being curiously stared at was getting old.

The ladies who worked at the museum were lovely, and welcomed me to sit with them while I waited an extra 20 minutes for a luxury Uber car to pick me up. I’m very proud of my bravery and wherewith-all to venture out in an Indian city (of 7 million people) solo. That evening, when I told my housemate from Israel about my day, she said, “And this is you’re first time in Pune? Wow you are very comfortable here.” It was her 14th time in Pune.

Here is few a photos and video from Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum.

Ancient Temples on Parvati Hill

One a weekend between our two weeks of classes, while our group was all together from Nashville, we visited the Ancient Temples on Parvati Hill. The temples are from the Marathas Empire and some of the oldest sights in Pune. For more history and information about these temples, I found discoveringtemples.com to be helpful. It’s also helpful to note, that nothing in India ever looks like the pictures you see online for tourism information. I think photo editing makes them look unrealistic clean and freshly painted. That was never the case. At least in my experience.

I read a few tips to enjoy the wonderful views of Pune on top of the hill. It was too polluted to see much the day we were there. Nonetheless, it was nice to visit. I also enjoyed the attached Peshwa Museum. While sightseeing this time, I was happy our teacher Aretha with us. She always shines her light and wisdom on subjects we know less about.

To help give a picture of truth, I did not edit my phone photos, so I can provide an example of what you will see, versus what you see online.

I’ll be doing one more Stories from Pune post, with more favorite street photos, visits with a seamstress, and the modern side of Pune. Because parts of the city does feel modern. There are great coffee shops, restaurants and shopping!

Just for fun, I typed into Google, “What is Pune known for?” And AI said this:

“Pune, India, is known for its diverse offerings, including its rich history, vibrant culture, and thriving educational and IT sectors. It’s often called the “Oxford of the East” due to its numerous prestigious educational institutions. Additionally, Pune is a major hub for the automobile and manufacturing industries, and it boasts a strong IT presence.”

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Settling in, on Hare Krishna Mandir Road

My second day in Pune, India was New’s Years Eve. I checked out of the RJ Marriott hotel and into the Geeta Home Stay for Iyengar Yoga students, on Hare Krishna Mandir Road. Which is also the address for Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI). 

I recommend the Geeta Home Stay for any foreigner traveling to RIMYI. It is quite nice, and the owner Supriya is welcoming and very helpful. Rooms rent by the month. I was the first student to check in for the month of January and the only soul to sleep there on New Year’s Eve. 

Soon, more students, including my friends from Nashville, arrived in preparation for 50th Anniversary Celebration of RIMYI and a two week intensive with classes.

With my official paperwork in hand, C-From, copies of my Visa, passport and extra passport photos, my next step was to check in at RIYMI. And get registered for regular daily classes beginning the next day, on New Year’s Day.

Yes, this was an amazing way to enter 2025!

First time walking into RIYMI

Walking down Hare Krisna Mandir Road and approaching the gates to RIYMI felt surreal. I had seen many photos of teachers standing in front of the marble RIYMI sign, along the sidewalk. Now, I was here.

Entering the hallway inside, past the large photo of Geeta Iyengar, felt monumental. RIYMI opened in 1975. It’s where BKS Iyengar studied, practiced and wrote many books to share yoga with the world. It’s prestigious but not pretentious. It’s welcoming but intimidating because it feels so important.

I had been taking hybrid Zoom classes with Abhijata Iyengar from RIMYI for three years. I felt prepared for her classes. And now I was getting a full view beyond the Zoom lens. 

Inside, I stepped up to the office doors and said I was here to talk to Kunal and register for classes. We sat down at a small desk. He asked how many years I have practiced Iyengar Yoga, and if I was a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT). Read more about my long journey to India and becoming a CIYT here.

I gave Kunal my papers. Then he showed me a computer screen with the classes I was invited to attend. I screen-shotted the schedule and he told me I was welcome to look around. 

The class schedule for foreigners was simple and to the point. But it felt BIG. With advanced classes from the world’s most wonderful yoga teachers, who learned straight from BKS Iyengar. I attended as many classes as possible at RIYMI before the two week intensive began, at a bigger location.

Being a student of Iyengar Yoga can feel serious. There is a natural unspoken respect that everyone has for yoga, their practice, being a student and the community as a whole. I am honored to be a part of it. And as a newcomer to RIYMI I didn’t want to make any mistakes. 

When I went to look around, it was open practice time in the main hall.

Hardly being able to believe that this moment was for real life – I tiptoed up the stairs, breathing slow, walking slow, taking it all in, being as in the fully present in the moment.

While feeling an abundance of gratitude, joy and amazement, I looked around ”the hall” with my very own eyes. Wide open eyes, and looking like a newcomer I’m sure!

Then a woman with her mat near the wall just inside the door, looked up, came out of her Audo Mukha Svansana (downward facing dog) and asked in the most cheerful British accent, “Is this your first time here?”

I nodded yes, nearly speechless. 

“Isssssn’t it ammmazzzing?” She asked? “Welcome. My name is Jayne.”

Photo of “the hall,” taken was a later time, when I had permission to take photos.

For the next couple of days, when I had newbie questions such as how the props get organized or which classes I should observe, I asked Jayne. I was grateful for Jayne’s joyfulness and welcoming spirit. I met many new yoga friends like Jayne. People were very kind. Locals and foreigners.

  • Read more about RIYMI click here.
  • To apply to study at RIYMI, Click here. Eight-ten years of Iyengar Yoga practice is recommended before you apply. Most foreigners who visit are a CIYT.
  • You can find a CIYT anywhere in the world… right here.

The Geeta Home Stay

My teacher Aretha McKinney from Chestnut Hill Yoga in Nashville, along with three other students who I have studied with Aretha, were joining me a few days later at The Geeta Home Stay. And for the 50th Anniversary Celebration intensive and events. 

Our room had a rooftop terrace. On New Year’s Eve night I climbed up to the top and watched the fireworks. It was a Happy New Year for me. 

The morning coffee times on the terrace were lovely too. I stayed there for three weeks. I’m glad a took a few photos to remember it. And a video to hear the birds and early morning sounds of Hare Krishna Mandir Road waking up before yoga classes. 

I also I love that Aretha made watercolor sketches of our stay in Pune. see more on her art page on IG

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Sightseeing in The Old City, Pune, India

My alarm went off for lunchtime, six hours after my flight landed in Pune, India. Next I ate the hotel buffet for lunch and sampled two plate fulls of Indian food – taking pictures of everything with the labels to remember what I was eating. Everything was delicious. Now I understood why people at home say our Indian restaurant is not real Indian food. It is not.

I stopped by my hotel gift shop, bought an Indian Pashmina and a new “wedding ring” because I left my real one at home (I often do when I travel). And I headed out to see Pune’s Old City.

Before my trip, I scheduled a walking tour of the old city of Pune for that afternoon. Walking around a new city is a great way to pass the day of jet leg until it’s bedtime. I wanted to learn the history of the city. And I once yoga classes started, there would not be much time for site seeing.

Since I was traveling alone in a new place, I arranged for a hotel driver to take me to the start of the walking tour – at Shaniwarwada in the Old City, where I  met my guide, Dhruva. It was a wise move because I was not prepared to manage the crowds on the streets solo. It’s also not the best choice for a woman to be on busy streets alone in India. I never felt unsafe. Because of the culture, you do not see many Indian women out alone. They are usually in pairs. 

The driver communicated a plan with my tour guide where to pick me up after the tour. We all exchanged What’s App numbers and the driver stayed in the neighborhood waiting to take me back to the hotel when my jet-lagged overstimulated self had experienced my max for the day.

Dhruva had a female friend join the tour and it was just the three of us. The young woman was a university student and grew up in the Old City. She was lovely. In addition to seeing monuments, temples and historical buildings, we walked through street markets and food vendors. As we sat on plastic stools on the side walk sipping small glass cups of coffee, I learned instant coffee is the norm in India. And learned to order South Indian Filter coffee, when at more modern coffee shops.

There are not many public parks or green spaces in Pune and that day a school came to visit Shaniwarwada. Swarms of children came and stood next to me, staring with curiosity, as if they had never seen a white foreigner before. I was a window to a different world to them.

The city felt wildly chaotic with traffic, auto-rickshaws zooming about the non- touristy streets, beeping non-stop, on the streets mostly populated by socializing men while women and children stuck together closer to home. Dhruva did a great job making me feel safe and comfortable. 

We went into several historic temples in the old town that local residents still frequent. We past old buildings and palaces that didn’t stand out as being tour worthy today, but were rich in history and stories from the Maratha Empire.

The Kasba Peth Ganpati Temple stood out to me – it is a 400 year old temple with a local vibe, featuring the religious character of the city and helps appreciate the city’s origins.

Everything in the Old City was old, and unpolished with layers of pollution dust. Crossing the busy streets of beeping rickshaws and swerving motor bikes was a really throwing myself into the chaos of India literally hours after I arrived for the very first time. The guide and his friend’s eyes got very big when I said it was my first time in India and I had just arrived. It was all new and different but I felt reasonably comfortable, even though I stood out as a foreigner. 

The street shops were like markets I had never seen before – one was for used text books, one for copy paper, one of kitchen towels and water bottles, one for fabric, next to another popped up tent selling only shoes. Between visits to temples my senses were filled with local smells of incense, street food, sewage, spices and the sounds of India. 

In Pune, I was drawn to the beautiful Ganesh statues and locals praying to them. These public ideals became a platform for unity and nationalism during India’s peaceful fight for independence.

When India was fighting for independence from British rule, Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune. During his great hungry strike people in Pune prayed to Ganesh to remove obstacles for Gandhi and the fight for freedom.

I learned more about this at the Bhausaheb Rangari Bhavan Museum, which includes a historical account of the first recognized public Ganesha idol installed in Pune in 1892. Along with the wooden chariot still used to today during annual Ganesh Chaturthi festivals in Pune.

Everything left me wanting to understand more about Indian culture – the good and the harsh realities. I had been studying yoga seriously for ten years and I was in the mecca of where it all began. 

Pune is not a tourist town. People were curious about me as a foreigner but I didn’t mind. It was part of my experience. I took it all in and was immediately drawn to the good in people who pray on street corners, share street food, and chat over small cups of coffee sitting on small plastic stools next to the busy the streets. We walked for 3 hours, as the guide stopped places and passionately shared the history of his city. And yes I ate street food. Bravely.

We saw not-well preserved but still standing sites important to Pune’s history. Like Nana Wada, built in 1780. It was constructed by Nana Phadnavis, a prominent minister of the Maratha Empire, during the Peshwa era.

Dhruva was full of passion and knowledge about his city, but eventually, I asked to end the tour because once the sun started to set. I had a 8 pm jet leg massage booked at the hotel. It was the perfect reprieve after my introduction to lively the streets of Pune, India. And right before I finally slept through the night on Indian Central Time. 

I officially checked India off my country list. In my next post, I’ll detail my moving visit to the Aga Khan Palace.

More India posts

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Traveling to India. Solo.

Before going to India I had heard things like you either love it or you don’t. And advice like, “you really need to be ready for India… because India is not easy.” I had heard about the pollution, the chaos, dirty water that makes people sick, eating only cooked mushy food, and how you can’t possibly understand the wonders of India unless you go. 

I was going. I was ready. And I knew in my soul it was an adventure I needed to do solo. At least part of it. I was going to attend the 50th Anniversary of Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI). I first became curious about visiting RIMYI in the early 2000s. I’ve been patient and put in a lot of practice hours to be ready for this adventure. 

I arrived at RIMYI early enough to take five days of classes at the institute, before the two week intensive began, that included five-six hours of classes a day. And after that, I traveled to the remote village or Bellur for an additional four day intensive with Prashant Iyengar.  

I left two days after Christmas and was gone four weeks. 

It was the my first international trip solo. I have been married 25 years and all 27 countries I visited before India were with Brian (who happens to be chair of the airport board, hence the sign). See you later honey. Thanks for holding down the house! You’re the best yoga husband ever.

To The Delhi Airport…

After a long layover in New York, I was ready for take off. I brought my first yoga book I ever purchased, along for the ride – Yoga A Gem for Woman by Geeta Iyengar. I purchased when I was pregnant with my first baby, when the seed for my yoga curiosity was first planted.

I was nervous to land in the Delhi airport, traveling solo on my first trip to India. So I mapped out the airport before I landed and I had a plan: get through customs, get my bags, find an ATM to get local currency, and go to domestic departures for my connecting flight to Pune. 

When I spotted an ATM, I curiously wondered if I should be thankful or suspicious about the heavily armed military man airport guard standing next to the ATM. I decided to be grateful for safely, and got out the max of 2000 Rupees from each of my two debit cards. 

I needed Rupees to pay for my yoga homestay, the remainder of my fees for yoga classes and to buy props for the two week intensive taking place off site from RIMYI. In India, most things are still paid in cash. 

I had a four hour layover, which was a good thing. Because it took three hours for me to arrive at gate 34, for Indigo Air flight 2343 to Pune. Departing at 1:40 AM.

After the ATM, went to domestic departures where a security worker told me to find Terminal 2 instead. 

I spotted a large yellow lit up sign that was outside the airport, for Terminal 2. But nothing inside. And once I went outside, I would not be allowed back inside the airport. I hoped for the best and stepped outside.

Having traveled to other underdeveloped counties, I was prepared for the dozens of taxi drivers shouting “taxi” at me when I stepped outside. I confidently and respectfully repeated “no Taxi” to them as I looked around for the way to Terminal 2. Second guessing which way to go.

At this point in my 24 hour journey, keeping track of time was getting tricky. I was very thankful for the kind taxi driver who approached me in English and asked me where I was going. He asked to see my boarding pass and clearly explained the process of what I needed to do next.  He was a wonderful welcome to India and a taste of the kindness I would continue to experience there.

Walking outside on a path alongside a parking lot with my two suitcases in the middle of the night to Terminal 2 was not on the airport map! And not what I envisioned as my first steps in India. But I was taking it all in, like a starry eyed traveler, not minding the smell of pollution in the air. 

Thankfully, I had the insight when I checked in to my flight in Knoxville,TN  to request a printed boarding pass for my Indigo Air flight. Because at Terminal 2 there was no staff working the counters in the middle of the night and I had to have a boarding pass to get inside the airport doors of Terminal 2. This was part of the process the taxi driver explained to me. Because if your flight is more than three hours from departure, you are not allowed in the airport and getting a hotel is recommended! 

Next came the long, packed Indigo line to recheck my bags. I was the only blond haired, obvious foreigner in the large crowd of Indians. I was feeling far from home, on a big solo adventure that my wandering soul craved for decades. I always wanted to travel the world, far and wide. And I finally felt really far away from home. 

Then my phone rang…. It was my daughter Lydia (age 15) and I answered to make sure everything was okay. She said, “Mom, I am going dress shopping with Scarlett for our winter dance (which I was missing) and I need money to buy a dress.”

I laughed out loud at the irony, that with technology, you can never really be that far from home (which is nice too). I am grateful that my village at home is good. That there will be more dances. And that I was able to joyfully say, “Lydia, call your Dad. I AM IN INDIA!”

I found gate 34 to Pune and took a seat in a plain metal white chair. There was a coffee stand with an honor system to pay. It was 1 AM. And yes people were drinking coffee! 

The local Indians slowly filled the chairs around me and I trusted we were all in the right spot because there was no sign for Pune and no Indigo Air workers. Just a yellow paper flip chart that displayed 34 in black bold numbers. About 1:20AM a woman in a tidy royal blue flight attendant outfit showed up and called out, “flight to Pune, follow me.”

Ready to go, I joined the crowd following her down a ramp, and outside to a bus that drove us to the middle of the hazy dark runway where we walked outside to board the full plane. I slept well on my long haul flight from JFK to Delhi, but looking at the planes lined up in the smoggy dark sky made me feel like I was dreaming. Luckily, my flight was not delayed due to low visibility as a result of pollution. Because that sometimes happens. 

It was a nice flight, where I received a bag of snacks and a cucumber sandwich. I was so hungry I forgot I wasn’t supposed to eat raw food. I gobbled it up, and all was well. 

I landed in the new terminal of the Pune airport and easily made it through baggage claim, where I had a driver waiting to take me to my hotel. At 5:00 AM I arrived at the beautiful JW Marriot and was greeted by staff in traditional Indian clothing all putting their hands together to bow and say Namaste. It felt like I was in a dream. A dream come true. I was in India.

I got to my hotel room, took a shower, and scheduled my alarm to wake me up for lunchtime. 

Despite many signs saying taking photos was prohibited in the Pune airport – I snapped this on the escalator. I was looking forward to ringing in the New Year in INDIA!

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My Little Yoga Corner, In a Big World of Yoga

Welcome to my little yoga corner, in a big world of yoga. A lot happens here. From my personal practice, to teaching, to taking Zoom classes from India. I’m grateful for my home studio, and to share my space with local yoga students and friends. I make it as welcoming as possible. Because I know trying new things can be intimidating.

My newest cheerful addition is a Little Free Library just for Iyengar Yoga books. I had some duplicates in my collection and I’m happy to share them with anyone wanting to learn! Inspired to learn? Check out my Summer Schedule and try an Intro to Iyengar Yoga Series.

In the Iyengar system it’s common to travel to study with a teacher. My mentor, Aretha McKinney is in Nashville at Chestnut Hill Yoga. Before that, I took day trips to Ashville, NC for weekly classes with Cindy Dollar. I have racked up 1000s of miles to study Iyengar Yoga teachers around the world.

With all that travel, I’m honored to be a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher and offer Iyengar Yoga in Knoxville.

You can find a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT) on anywhere in the US, at the Iyengar National Association of the United States website. You can find a CYYT anywhere in the world at BKSIyengar.com.

Online class options are abundant. But being in-person is best when available. Especially for beginner and intermediate students. For me, I’m super grateful to study with senior teachers, in my little yoga corner.

Today is Tuesday and I’m waiting to get online for my weekly Zoom class from The Yoga Place in LaCross Wisconsin, with senior teacher Chris Saudek. It too is a welcoming space. So much that it feels like a Zoom home. Right from my home.

It’s a challenging two-hour class that requires full concentration. I learn a lot while barely looking at my screen! But she SEES people on the little Zoom boxes! Last week during Pranayama, I was brought to full attention, when I heard Chris kindly say, “Rebecca relax your thumbs.” 

During Sirsasana (headstand) variations, I really know she’s watching. It encourages me to work harder, stay up longer and finish the sequences. Which can mean being on my head for 10 minutes. 

I will forever be humbled and inspired by life-long yoga practitioners like Chris in her 70s, still dedicated to practicing advanced postures that I struggle to achieve. So I keep practicing… in my little yoga corner.

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Yoga Journey to India, and becoming a CIYT

I was living in Midtown Atlanta when I discovered Iyengar Yoga. Before that, I had heard of yoga, and I was curious to know more.

In 1999 I was a newlywed, and my husband was in graduate school studying International Affairs at Georgia Tech. As a 23-year-old wife I had the perk of taking free continuing education classes at Georgia Tech. I read the printed brochure of offerings and signed up Kundalini Yoga, not knowing what Kundalini meant. There were no yoga mats, and everyone showed up wearing all white. For eight weeks we sat on the carpet floor and breathed. Growing up I did classical ballet and gymnastics. That yoga was not for me. I needed movement. 

Two years later with a shiny new diploma, my husband got a grown-up job that came with a gym membership on the top of a grown-up high rise building downtown. The Peachtree Athletic Center had a juice bar before that was a thing, a bougie warm towel service and a beautiful group fitness center with hardwood floors that reminded me of a ballet studio. They offered yoga so I decided to try it again. 

My body and mind were at home in that class. My body aligned with the physical instructions, and my mind aligned with the breath to go deeper within myself. It was my first class, and I loved it.  

After class I learned the teacher was Mark Bodner and he was preparing for his assessment to become a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT). His mentor was Kathleen Pringle of Stillwater Yoga, and her Iyengar Yoga studio was within walking distance to my house in Midtown Atlanta. 

Now begins the practice of Yoga

I took my first yoga class with Kathleen at Stillwater. Painted on the wall above the door welcoming students into the main studio (which sadly closed shortly after Covid) was the first sutra from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – Atha Yoga Anushasanam, translated as, now begins the practice of yoga.

The door of Iyengar Yoga opened, and my yoga practice evolved into a home within me – a place I always wanted to return. Where I can feel grounded, present and peaceful.

Another sutra painted on a studio wall was, yogah cittavrtti nirodhah, translated as yoga is the cessation of movements in the consciousness. My yoga practice has traveled with me through the fluctuations of life and guided me even when I could not guide myself. 

There were other sutras on the wall at Stillwater. I would look at them during class, craving more knowledge about yoga.  

In the early 2000s Stillwater was buzzing with students going up for assessment and making plans to visit the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India – the home of Iyengar Yoga. Everyone was joyfully serious about their practice and teaching. 

I wanted to be a part of this community. I wanted to be a teacher like them. 

At the time I was enjoying my life as a freelance journalist in Atlanta. Those were the days when bins of poche magazines and alternative newspapers lined the street corners downtown. And I was writing for many of them. I was living my twenties and our pre-kid life to the fullest. 

But as we celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary, talks of having a baby were well in the works. 

I got pregnant and was grateful to study with Kathleen throughout my pregnancy. But I could not ignore the constant buzz about teachers going to India to study with BKS Iyengar, for a month every year!

None of the teachers at Stillwater had children. So, I thought to myself: “When I’m done having babies, I am going to India.” 

Decades of Full Time Motherhood

Haiden, our first baby, was born Fall of 2004 and Esther, my last girl, was born Summer of 2015.

After Haiden was born, I stopped buzzing around town as a journalist to stay home with her. Like all my babies, Haiden nursed and never took a bottle. Brian and I’s parents lived in different parts of the sprawling city and were still working. One afternoon a week my dad drove my mom downtown to watch Haiden. I had just enough time between feedings to attend yoga class with Kathleen. And that’s what I did every week with my three hours of “me time.”

In Fall of 2005 when everyone at the studio was buzzing about the October 2005 Iyengar Convention in Estes Park Colorado (the last time BKS Iyengar traveled to the United States to teach) my husband was starting a new job and we were moving to Knoxville, TN. 

When I moved to Knoxville there were THREE yoga teachers in town. I appreciated them all for what they offered. But nothing came close to Iyengar Yoga with Kathleen at Stillwater. So, I rolled out a yoga mat in my living room and finally established a home practice. Literally.

I was grateful for my knowledge and confidence to safely practice yoga through all my pregnancies, and phases of mothering small children. 

Between baby girls three and four, in 2013, I had two miscarriages. The sadness of that period was the longest time I ever went without getting on a yoga mat. To heal, I went the beach for the summer but didn’t plan on doing yoga. 

When I got there, I was surprised to find a new island yoga studio. I rode my bike to class everyday wearing my pajamas. It was not Iyengar Yoga. But the owner was (and still is) a classically skilled teacher with a dedicated personal practice. She welcomed me and provided the space I needed for healing. And I was home again, with yoga.

A New Beginning with Iyengar Yoga, 2014

Back in Knoxville, in August 2014, I heard the news the BKS Iyengar died. I wasn’t done having babies. I had not been to India. And now he was gone. I picked up my copy of Light on Life, reread the intro and was profoundly moved by the well-known quote, “My end is your beginning.” 

By now, an Iyengar teacher named Cindy Dollar from Asheville, NC was traveling to Knoxville to teach a nine month-long program. I wasn’t done having babies and I wasn’t interested in being a teacher at that time. But I did want to learn from a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher. 

Two months into the program I became pregnant with my last baby girl. After Esther was born, I taught prenatal and postnatal while wearing Esther in a baby carrier. 

Cindy stopped coming to Knoxville to teach. So, when Esther started Montessori pre-school school, I started making day trips to Asheville once a week, for classes with Cindy. It was a two-hour drive over the mountain to get to class. I left early, took two classes, and was in the school pick up line by 3:30.  

About a year later, Cindy was selling her yoga studio. Wanting to support me, Cindy suggested I go to Nashville to attend mentoring sessions with Aretha Mckinney, a senior Iyengar Yoga teacher who now owns Chestnut Hill Yoga.  

While I was a new student in Nashville, Geeta Iyengar died. 

Geeta was BKS Iyengar’s daughter who wrote Yoga A Gem for Yoga – the very first yoga book I bought at Stillwater. Geeta and her book guided me through pregnancies and my practice as a woman.  

I was done having babies and I was time to prioritize my goal of studying to be a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher. It was 2018 and I was ready to embrace a new beginning. In Nashville with a new teacher. 

But part of me wondered, with all the changes, did I wait too long to pursue being a CIYT and going to RIYMI in India.

Practice and Study changes with 2020

Soon after, the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States (IYNAUS) announced they were revamping the certification process and taking a year-long break of certifying new teachers. 

Then came COVID and I began to realize accomplishing my big goals while parenting teenagers was harder than doing it while having small children. Because 2020 brought all kinds of challenges. 

Our oldest daughter experienced a mental health crisis. To find adequate in-person treatment we spent four months in a city eight hours away. That time, my yoga mat, props and yoga books all came with me!

In that scary, cold feeling apartment (like that desperate summer at the beach) my yoga practice felt like home, allowing me to find peace within my body and mind.

During Covid I did not utilize the Zoom yoga world right away. I retreated within and had a quiet existence with my family, until we all got in a better place.

Eventually, I was grateful for Zoom yoga because it meant I could take on-line classes from Abhijata Iyengar – BKS Iyengar’s granddaughter, a great teacher and businesswomen now managing RIYMI in Pune, India. 

Seeing the RYIMI yoga hall in the classes for the first time on my computer screen felt surreal, like a mini trip to visit India! It showed me it was NOT too late for me to join the CIYT community visiting Pune. 

Abhijata is a mom to young children. While teaching international classes on Zoom, sometimes one would make a surprise appearance from behind the zoom curtain to gift her a freshly made piece of art. I felt a connection to her. 

Here is Iyengar teacher who was also a mom, leading RIYMI through challenging times and doing it very well! 

It felt like the right time to be exactly where I was on my journey! It felt like another new beginning.

I kept going to Nashville and taking classes with Aretha. And online with Abhijata. 

In May 2023 IYNAUS hosted the US Iyengar Convention in San Diego. Abhijata would be there teaching. It wasn’t Estes Park, but it was a big deal to attend. I had never left my family for that long!  

New teacher assessments with IYNUS were back happening but all on Zoom. I gave myself a deadline to decide by the end of the convention to apply (or not) for assessment in 2023. I was as ready as I was going to be. Aretha agreed and recommended me for assessment.

That year IYNAUS offered an option to teach in-person, using a Zoom camera to display the class. So, I signed up. I passed in September and became the first Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher in Knoxville, TN. 

A congratulatory card from Cindy Dollar that said,”Welcome to the family,” still makes me emotional, joyful, and grateful for this journey.

Planning for Pune, India 2025

Our Simmons family always travels together. My husband Brian and I have been to 27 countries together since we met in 1997. So going to India solo was a big deal.

Summer 2024 travel plans were designed to be a steppingstone to India. Our family would go farther and more exotic than ever before, as the Simmons six.  It included Australia, Bali and other remote scuba diving destinations in Indonesia. 

Mental Illness challenges from 2020 re-appeared. So, in support of our daughter, we traded a trip for therapy at home. Life happens and canceling our summer plans was the obvious answer. 

Needing a place to heal, I scrolled the IYNAUS calendar of events and found a last-minute spot for a retreat with Marla Apt at the Feathered Pipe Ranch in Montana. While doing yoga in the mountains with many other CIYTs who have traveled to India, I knew it was time for India. 

On the last day I sat outside having breakfast with Marla, and I asked her when should I go to India? She said, “RIYMI is hosting a big 50th Anniversary Celebration in January. You should go then.” 

Before my flight had left the mountains, I texted Aretha and a few other teachers from Nashville asking if anyone wanted to go with me. Four of them said yes. 

Two days after Christmas 2024, I kissed my husband and my family goodbye for a month!!! And I flew to Pune, India. Solo. Country number 28. 

Aretha and my Nashville friends would me there a few days later.

On New Years Eve, I walked into RIYMI, introduced myself, signed up for classes and went to the library. 

The desk where BKS Iyengar sat and wrote his books is just the way he left it. Except now there is a photo of him in the chair he sat in. On the table is a book of newspaper clippings from his death and his life. The cover of it said, “My end is your beginning.” 

That night I rang in 2025 on the rooftop of where I was staying in Pune, down the street from RIYMI.

I was in India. I felt at home. Very at home. 

Older posts you might like:

A New Beginning with photo from Stillwater Yoga Studio

Aligning Life Through Yoga

Yoga Play at Home with kids having fun!

Yoga for the New Year 2016 Throw back to baby Esther! And I had a home studio, when all the yoga happened in my living room.

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