On this month of January 2021, it is 46 years since the inauguration of Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India.
On this occasion, Prashant S. Iyengar, the son of BKS Iyengar, shares with us the story of the Institute, from its inception to its inauguration. Listening to him, one is amazed by how human effort, generosity and collective work helped build the establishment that forms the heart and soul of Iyengar Yoga to this day.
The architecture of the building is of particular interest as it intricately represents the Philosophy of Yoga.
“The three floors represent the body, mind and soul. Its height is 71 feet and it has 8 columns which represent the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga i.e. Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. The bust of Smt. Ramamani at the gate welcomes the visitor while that of Guruji is present in the entrance hall. Guruji's bust has been chiseled by the Queen Mother of Belgium at the age of 81 joyous at accomplishing her life's dream of performing Sirsasana. The institute is filled with numerous awards, citations, presentations, offerings and works of art presented to Guruji. The library has 8000 titles in several languages on a variety of subjects ranging from philosophy, human anatomy and physiology, ayurveda, commentaries on the scriptures, modern medicine and of course yoga.”
Excerpt from www.bksiyengar.com
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