Ahead of her workshops next weekend in Camden, Iyengar-trained Nikki Costello reflects on what brings her back to yoga and the Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Memorial Institute.
As I was leaving RIYMI (Ramamani Iyengar Yoga Memorial Institute) in Pune, India, a feeling of great joy accompanied by waves of gratitude filled my whole being. With folded palms, I offered my salutations to the alter of Lord Patanjali along with a blossoming jasmine plant, whose delicate fragrance reaches toward the innermost chamber of my heart. Once again, this sacred place has bestowed countless blessings.
The Iyengar family, led by the profound dedication of B.K.S. Iyengar, continues to cultivate and sustain an abode of yoga right in the centre of what is now an ever-expanding, bustling city. Yet, this yoga hall is untainted, totally undisturbed by the change of its surroundings. While practising there, one feels they have entered a timeless universe… one that we long to return to again and again.
What transforms a simple yoga hall into a place of pilgrimage?
The answer is abhyasa, which is a regular and devoted practice sustained over a long period of time. This is the life-force of RIYMI that draws yoga students from all over the world, year after year. During my visit last month, I was delighted to see the number of new students attending the institute for the first time and experiencing the power of Iyengar’s living legacy. His presence and teachings are felt everywhere, as is his command to practice and discover one’s self through yoga.
India is a place I return to each year; no matter how repetitive the journey, the pilgrimage is never the same. What happens every single time is an alchemical process; one that alters the very cells of my body and mind, returning me to myself both in a familiar “I know this Nikki” and a new Nikki way… a part of myself I had not seen. It’s wonderful, and it’s always a surprise! I don’t often know before going what is holding me back, but then in practice, an understanding arises in my awareness. A realisation like, I don’t have to live like this… a certain way of thinking, or being, or a belief that no longer serves me in my journey as a human being. And there it goes; a layer, an obscuring veil is dropped.
I consider this aspect of releasing or letting go as an act of grace. When we practise yoga, we are generating an inner fire, a purifying fire that slowly and deliberately dissolves our limitations. When we go on a pilgrimage, we carry this inner fire with us and, when we arrive at a place like RIMYI that lives and breathes the truth of yoga, we receive exactly what we need.
Soon, I will be arriving in London to offer The Practice: Threading Consciousness Through the Body at triyoga Camden. As a teacher of yoga, I hold the intention to bring the blessings of my pilgrimage, study and practice to all the students I meet. I look forward to our weekend of practice together, and the promise of self-discovery.
Nikki is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT). For 23 years, her teaching has been inspired by annual trips to India including RIYMI (Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute) the study of scriptural and philosophical texts and a daily practice of meditation. In 2013-2014, she was a contributing editor at Yoga Journal, writing the magazine’s “Basics Column.” and in 2016, Nikki was named one of the 100 Most Influential Teachers in America. nikkicostello.com
