This is the final part of our mini series on the 50th Birthday Celebrations, with Suzie Walker’s thoughts!

Written by Suzie Walker, Hampshire Teacher

As a first timer to Pune (although not India), I was very thankful to be travelling with fellow teacher and friend, Semra. From the start I felt immersed in the colourful city culture and on the first afternoon at the Deccan Gymkhana, Abhijata welcomed us to the yoga intensive, and said it would be ‘extensive’.

That was so true with around 4-5 hours yoga tuition a day for two weeks, my routine became eat, drink, ‘yoga’, sleep, repeat. I took away so much from the fantastic teachers we were blessed to have and who through their sessions freely gave us their energy, dynamism, knowledge and ‘wisdom’. As well as sharing how Guruji shaped their own experiences through personal anecdotes.

With around 250 attendees from across the world and some visiting for decades, it was such a joy to meet new friends and see old ones too. A few highlights were taking part in a class at RIMYI and hanging in the ropes, learning directly from Sunita who had such a sharp eye, to the wonderful 50th celebrations where the children performed.

Now home, I continue to reflect on my learning and shared stories, and I keep coming back to something Prashantji said, and that’s if you want to honour Guruji’s legacy then follow Patanjali’s yoga.

Dorset and Hampshire Iyengar Yoga

A reflection on RIMYI's 50th Birthday…