8 years later

8 years ago, Wednesday mornings were looked forward to with great anticipation. A thirsty waiting. It was class day when I’d be charged and riveted for an hour with my teacher. Ever since that very first class in June that year, my respect and love for her grew. Like everyone else, I loved her class or maybe it was her. I was simply one of many thousands who would enter the doors of RIMYI with a great deal of reverence. I remember the thrill when she gave me a card at the end of that year to move to Intermediate.

My own journey with the place saw me go through awe and reverence to its current place as home. Since that Wednesday morning all those years ago, I’ve been in many classes of varying levels with my teacher. Yesterday, I had to sub for her and so taught a class at RIMYI in that iconic hall. The class itself will remain etched in my mind because I miscalculated the time 🙂 and ended early. Later, my friends and teachers shared stories about their first class at RIMYI and their bloopers. So, it is a rite of passage. In balance, it was a good class.

Around the world, this system of teaching and learning has very extensive, formal pedagogy while at the heart of it all at RIMYI, the learning, teaching is organic. Depsite the modernity of yoga teaching and learning, it is a gurukula in spirit. We are children of the institute. One of my deepest satisfactions is being of service in whatever way I can. Packing up after a class for the teachers, doing stuff for the library, archives or then coordinating activities, all of these are a devotion to a place that has given me much. The subject, the teachers, the legacy is so enormous and yet it is worn lightly. And so I want to remain a student. Always.