Rita Keller stands as a pioneering figure in the world of Iyengar yoga, her journey beginning in the transformative decade of the 1970s when Eastern philosophical practices were first gaining recognition in Western society. As one of Germany’s first certified Iyengar yoga teachers, Keller represents a living bridge between the ancient traditions of yoga and their modern applications.
These are my thoughts following the special session with Rita Keller in our Yoga Readers community in March 2025.
Learning from the Masters
“When I first traveled to Pune to study with B.K.S. Iyengar, I arrived as a student but left forever changed as a practitioner. His attention to alignment transformed not just my physical practice but my understanding of the body as a gateway to deeper awareness. He would often tell us, ‘The body is the bow, asana is the arrow, and the soul is the target.’ This philosophy continues to guide every class I teach.”
Keller’s extensive training directly with the Iyengar family—B.K.S. Iyengar himself, along with his children Geeta and Prashant—provided her with an authentic foundation rarely found in Western yoga instruction. This lineage-based learning reflects the traditional guru-shishya (teacher-student) relationship that has preserved yoga’s integrity through centuries.
Creating Community Through Practice
The founding of the Iyengar Yoga Institut Rhein-Ahr represents more than an institutional achievement; it embodies Keller’s commitment to creating spaces where transformation can occur. Her institute has become a sanctuary for serious practitioners seeking precision and depth in their practice.
“A yoga institute should be more than just a place where people come to stretch their bodies. It should be a laboratory for self-discovery, a community where we support each other’s growth, and a sanctuary where the ancient wisdom of yoga remains alive and accessible. When I teach, I’m not just instructing postures—I’m offering a methodology for living with greater awareness and compassion.”
Women’s Wisdom Through Yoga
Perhaps Keller’s most significant contribution lies in her specialized work addressing women’s unique needs through yoga. Her books Yoga für Frauen and Yoga in der Schwangerschaft emerged from her recognition that traditional yoga texts often overlooked the specific challenges women face.
“Women’s bodies contain a different wisdom than men’s. Through the cycles of menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause, a woman’s body undergoes profound transformations that yoga can support when practiced with awareness and sensitivity. The female body isn’t simply a variation of the male form—it contains its own intelligence and requires specific approaches. In pregnancy especially, yoga becomes not just a personal practice but a sacred dialogue between mother and child.”
Her therapeutic approach recognizes that proper alignment isn’t just about physical perfection but about creating the conditions for holistic healing:
“Alignment in asana is meaningful only when it leads to alignment in consciousness. When we bring the body into proper alignment, we’re really preparing the nervous system to experience deeper states of awareness. This is particularly important for women, whose bodies often carry emotional and societal tensions in specific ways.”
A Global Teacher
Though rooted in German culture, Keller’s influence extends far beyond national boundaries. Her international seminars have created a global community of practitioners who carry her precise methodology and compassionate approach into diverse cultural contexts.
“Yoga transcends cultural differences while respecting individual experiences. When I teach internationally, I’m constantly reminded that the fundamental human experience of embodiment—of being present in a body that breathes, moves, and feels—connects us across all apparent differences. The precision of Iyengar yoga offers a universal language through which we can communicate beyond words.”
Reflections for Practitioners
As we consider Rita Keller’s contributions to yoga, several questions emerge for our own practice:
How might precision in physical alignment translate to precision in other areas of your life? Consider how the careful attention cultivated on your mat might transform your relationships, work, or creative pursuits.
In what ways does your yoga practice honor the unique needs of your body? Following Keller’s example, how might you adapt traditional practices to address your specific physical, emotional, and spiritual needs?
What does it mean to study within a lineage? In an era of rapidly evolving yoga styles, how might connection to an established tradition like Iyengar yoga deepen your understanding?
How does your practice change through different life phases? Reflecting on Keller’s work with women in various stages of life, how has your relationship with yoga evolved as you’ve grown and changed?
Beyond physical postures, how does your yoga practice manifest as a “methodology for living”? What principles from your practice guide your daily decisions and interactions?
Rita Keller reminds us that yoga, at its best, offers not just techniques for physical wellbeing but a comprehensive approach to living with greater awareness, precision, and compassion. Through her teaching, writing, and global influence, she continues to illuminate the path of yoga for practitioners seeking depth and authenticity in their practice.
“The true measure of yoga’s effectiveness isn’t how perfectly you perform an asana, but how your practice transforms your experience of being alive. When alignment of the body leads to alignment of the mind and heart, yoga fulfills its highest purpose.”
In the vast tapestry of yogic history, certain encounters stand as powerful testimonies to the universality of spiritual wisdom. The debate between Sulabha and
Agi Wittich is a yoga practitioner since two decades, and is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. Wittich studied Sanskrit and Tamil at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, completing a PhD with a focus on Hinduism, Yoga, and Gender. She has published academic papers exploring topics such as Iyengar yoga and women, the effects of Western media on the image of yoga, and an analysis of the Thirumanthiram yoga text.
