If you practice Iyengar yoga, one name sits above all others: the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India — the institute founded by B.K.S. Iyengar himself, and still regarded as the spiritual and technical home of this method worldwide.
For Iyengar students across Europe — from Berlin to Barcelona, Amsterdam to Vienna — this is a piece of news worth paying attention to: RIMYI has opened registrations for its 2026-27 term, with classes underway since June 2026. If you’ve ever dreamed of studying at the source, this is exactly the kind of milestone that’s worth planning around, even if your visit is still a year or two away.
Why RIMYI Matters, Even If You Never Travel to Pune
Founded in 1975 in memory of Ramamani Iyengar, the institute has trained generations of teachers who then carried the method back to studios across Europe and the rest of the world. Every Iyengar class you’ve ever taken in London, Paris, or Munich traces its lineage back to this one building in Pune.
The institute offers courses for beginner, intermediate, and advanced students, along with specialised classes — and for many long-time European practitioners, attending even a short course there is a genuine milestone in their yoga journey.
What This Means for Your Practice at Home
Not everyone can travel to Pune this year — but the spirit of RIMYI’s teaching (precision, alignment, and disciplined use of props) is something every European practitioner can bring into their own home practice right now.
The Institute’s teaching leans heavily on props used correctly — ropes, blankets, blocks, and wooden supports — to help students of every level access poses safely and precisely. If you’re following along with Iyengar sequences at home, or preparing for your own visit to Pune one day, having genuinely well-made props makes a real difference in how much you get out of your practice between now and then.
Preparing Your Own Practice, Wherever You Are in Europe
Whether you’re a student hoping to visit Pune in the future, or simply want your home practice to reflect the same standards taught at the source, it’s worth investing in props built to the same specifications used in serious Iyengar study — proper density blankets, correctly proportioned wall ropes, and solidly constructed wooden accessories.
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This article shares publicly available news about the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute for the benefit of the European Iyengar community. Yoga-Nation is an independent retailer of yoga props and is not affiliated with or representing RIMYI. For official admissions, course details, or registration, please visit rimyi.org directly.