To understand more about Iyengar yoga, this morning we went to the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute again. Our first yoga class was conducted by Sri Prashant S. Iyengar, the son of B.K.S. Iyengar and director of the institute – also an authority in yoga. His style is more philosophical. The next class was a…
Read MoreThe Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune
At 9am sharp we entered the gate of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, and our visit couldn’t start any better as we directly ran into Guruji B.K.S. Iyengar, who was in a great mood. He let us attend his 2 and half hours of self practice in the main shala. We were…
Read MoreThe Yoga Institute, Mumbai
Close to 1,000 people come to this yoga center everyday. Every minute the door opens, letting people go in and out. There are yoga classes for men, women, couples, children, companies, policemen, everyone! The Yoga Institute is a lively place. “It is like the shade of a big tree”, says Rachel about the deep-rooted atmosphere at…
Read MoreLeaving beautiful Bihar
5am and no power cut today, wonderful! Everything works out, and Coni could even shoot the missing asana class. At 6am we listened to a last beautiful morning chanting before hopping into a taxi to Patna, the capital city of Bihar, 200 km away from here. After 3 days at the Bihar School of Yoga,…
Read MoreYoga at the Bihar School of Yoga
Asana classes are from 5am to 6:30am only, and if there is a power cut like this morning, Coni could not shoot due to the lack of light. Bad luck! But later in the day, the weather got nice and sunny, and we were happily surprised by an invitation to attend a satsang with the…
Read MoreMeeting Swami Suryaprakash
Our schedule follows the ashram life – early to bed, early to rise and always inside the ashram. Our visit to the Bihar School of Yoga was announced quite late (too late), and this Monday we were busy trying to catch Swami Suryaprakash, the director of the Bihar School of Yoga, for an interview. In…
Read MoreSunday at the Bihar School of Yoga
We got lucky! Our train got enough delay and we arrived at the Bihar School of Yoga (BSY) shortly before 6am – we didn’t have to hang around the city before the ashram opened. Sunday is also day off in the ashram, which doesn’t mean everyone can go out. The normal programme is reduced to…
Read MoreOn the Farakka Express to Bihar
We are heading to the Bihar School of Yoga, a famous and well known source of excellent yoga teachers. Train tickets to Bihar are very difficult to get – we could only get 3 separate non AC sleeper seats in 2nd class. This time we cross fingers that our Farakka Express train no. 13484 will…
Read More2nd day at BHU, Vanarasi
Freshly arrived to Varanasi on the early morning train, Coni joined us for a second day at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). We were allowed to take photographs of the morning yoga class (asanas) for international students. Another 4-month yoga course, called diploma course, is offered at BHU – this one is more theoretical. Although…
Read MoreBanaras Hindu University, Varanasi
With a couple of hours delay we (Heide and Otto) reached Varanasi. After a fast check-in, we headed to the famous Banaras Hindu University (BHU), one of India’s largest campuses. Professor K.K. Sharma (Sankhyayoga Darshan and Vyakarana, Indian Philosophy) welcomed us and invited us to watch an asana class for Indian students of the 4-week…
Read MoreMorarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Delhi
Today we visited the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), the only national institute of yoga, and a place in the heart of India’s capital where you can get a very complete postgraduate degree in yoga studies. Before the asana class started, we could see and learn how proper nose and stomach cleaning are performed. A…
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