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A Short History of the Wheel

Eastern Region

Plus: The National Organisation ~ Addendum, Overview and Rolls of Honour

In the acknowledgements in the introduction to her book: A History of Modern Yoga: Patajali and Western Esotericism by Dr Elizabeth De Michelis: Independent scholar, formerly researcher in South Asian and contemporary religion and the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford Elizabeth says :I wish to acknowledge the British Wheel of Yoga for pro-

viding stimulating teaching and training during the early phases of my research. This institutions hard work and its commitment to the cultivation of yoga are widely recognised in British Modern Yoga circles and abroad.
In this brief history of the Wheel, Ive tried to set out what has been achieved through the hard work and the commitment of the elected officers and the many hundreds of helpers. How much you support regional activities and what you put back into the region, reflects your attitude to the organisation. We are always hopeful that members will add more - . If you have any comments please contact us via our website: www.yoga-east.co.uk J.C. November 2011

If you dont know where you are coming from, how can you plan for the future . Gevene

We are the history of the Wheel

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A Short History of the Wheel

Eastern Region

Plus: The National Organisation ~ Addendum, Overview and Roll of Honour

In 2005 the Wheel was looking to celebrate its fortieth anniversary. To celebrate that event, the Regional Committee decided to put together a short history of Eastern Region. This has been updated for the upgrading of the regional website in 2011 and weve added a role of honour to list the many, many people who have served the Wheel nationally in the organisation.

The Wheel was founded in 1965 by Wilfred Clark (1891-1981). Like many new, spontaneous organisations, the demand and growth kept out-stripping support. In the early days the Local Adult Education services provided most of the classes. In the 60s attitudes were changing dramatically with more travel, many people were looking for alternative lifestyles, etc. Books on yoga could be found in specialist bookshops like Watkins Bookshop, Atlantis Bookshop, etc. but in the main these were translations of Indian books published by the Theosophical Society or books from Ramacharaka series and book by authors such as Paul Brunton. These books had little to offer by way of illustrations regarding yoga postures. The publication of BKS Iyengars book Light on Yoga and the re-printing of Theos Bernards book Hatha Yoga ( originally published in the UK 1950 ) and James Hewitts Yoga (1960), gave added interest and whetted the publics interest in Yoga. More books followed and articles in magazines, newspapers and journals increased awareness of the activity in the UK. A big stimulus took place with the launch of Richard Hittlemans TV series(1971) ~ although the first series of Yoga on TV was Sir Paul Dukes four programmes for the BBC in 1951 ~ possibly something ahead of its time. The interest in yoga developed at such a rate that is was soon recognised that a national frame-work was needed. The first national structure for BWY had six regions ~ see the extract below from one of the early Wheel magazines.

You will notice from the above that we had provincial members and you will also see that Wilfred spoke about the Federation and Acacia House in Acton London, as the Wheels [Federation] Headquarters which we built in `969. The Wheel had a purpose-built unit installed behind Acacia House, initially, rather grandly named The Hall of the Acacias but more often referred to as The Dojo, which was used for seminars. The Wheel lost the use of this building when Acacia House was sold, but the unit was still in existence in the early 90salthough demolished when the home became a residential property(1999). The Wheel began life as the The Wheel of British Yoga but by 1969 we had changed the name to the Western Yoga Federation. The Wheel produced a draft Constitution in 1972 and was registered as a Charity in March 1973 ( CC Ref: 264993 ) with the name changing to The British Wheel of Yoga in 1974.

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Those of you that are not myopic might notice the name changes in the sequence of the Wheels logos, which have changed over time, as shown below:

1965

1969

1974

1995

2004

An early statement from a Wheel publication What is Yoga (1970) defines, very clearly, how the organisation saw its purpose and role in the UK, describing the Wheel as the only national coordinating body for yoga groups and individuals I believe that still holds true. It also listed the costs of membership ~ which makes interesting reading.

Whoever took the option in 1970 to become a Life Member for 25 got a bargain but Ive never been able to ascertain in the above insert, what was meant by facilities and concessions in relation to the above membership system. There was also no difference in annual subscription fee between teachers and non-teaching members. By Spring 1973 we had developed into eight regions and the Chair (Margaret Ward) was still referring to the organisation as The Federation.

Notice in the above we are still describing ourselves as a co-ordinating body. You will also note Apa Pant, an Indian diplomat and High Commissioner in London from 1969-72 and who had written a book about the Surya Namaskars(1970), was the Honorary Patron. We also had an Honorary President: Yogaraj Sri Swami Satchidananda, The Wheel held its first one day national Congress in 1967 In Birmingham and although there are records of residential yoga weekends from 1967 and many non-residential week-end events in the regions, national residential event was the two day Congress/AGM held in Walsall 2-4th April 1976, at the West Midlands College of Education.

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The event also doubled as the European Union of National Federations of Yogas yearly convention. Looking back on how the event was advertised and the layout of the programme makes interesting reading and must have been a daunting step for the events organising team who also had to take into account that it was covered by the BBC and local radio. The prices were also revealing:

The occasion was a big success with an attendance higher than any of the previous non-residential events. There has been a residential Congress /AGM ever since.

The Wheels Growth Changes in Classes and Teaching Trends

We do not have any figures for the membership for the Wheel during the first few years but the growth continued in a consistent manner. We have very good data going back to 1983 relating to total membership and teacher training Contrary to popular opinion, during the first years of its life the Wheel was not a teaching organisation (and still isnt !). Even in 2012 it is only when accredited teachers are included, does the figure for the teachers account for 50% of BWY membership.

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B W Y M E M B E R S H IP
10000 To tal Membersh ip All T eachers + Acc r. Stu .T eachers Non-Di pl oma Members BWY Te achers

1 99 2 -20 10

8000

6000

4000

2000

0
19 92 19 94 19 96 19 98 20 00 20 02 20 04 20 06 20 08 19 93 19 95 19 97 19 99 20 01 20 03 20 05 20 07 '0 9 '1 0 '1 1 '1 2

In the first thirty years of the Wheel development, well over 90 % of classes were run under auspices of the Local Adult Education authorities [LEAs]. Yoga proved so successful and usually oversubscribed that it became an important financial consideration for LEAs. In effect it began to subsidise other classes/subjects. Most classes in the 60s and 70s were of two hours duration, but many LEAs in a move to increase their finances started to change the length of classes from the hours down to 90 minutes and cram two yoga sessions in on a typical evening class. There is little information available on the growth of Yoga as an activity apart from the General Household Surveys(1985 onwards),Some Sports Council Statistics and the Allied Dunbar Health Survey[Scotland] in the 1990s In two surveys on in Eastern Region in 1985 and another in 1994 showed the typical duration of a yoga class.
Duration of Classes
Eastern Region 1985
70 60

Duration of Classes
Eastern Region 1994
60 60 50 50

Duration of Classes
Website Analysis 2008

50

40
40 30 20 10 0

40

30

30

20

20

10

10

0ve r 2 h rs 90 min s

12 0 m ins 60 mi ns

0ve r 2 h rs 90 min s

12 0 m ins 60 mi ns

0ve r 2 h rs 90 min s

12 0 m ins 60 mi ns

The 1997 National survey also showed the size of the main yoga organisations regarding teachers. [this was also supported by published figures from some yoga organisations and survey from a dissertation [J Honeybenn 1998] .

Yoga Teachers
England / Wales

447 37 54 121 64 136 2080

Legend
BW Y O ther Y .f.H S iva nanda FR YO G V iniyoga S atya nanda /B ihar Iye ngar

560

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The above breakdown came as a shock to some people in the Wheel who were not aware of the size of our organisation compared to other associations. We believe the 1997 survey was the first of its kind in the UK The situation since 1997 has changed with a number of teacher training organisations set up during the last 10-12 years. Although no new data is available in 2011 on class make up,(as far as I know), the pattern regarding men/women doesnt seem to have changed since the National Yoga Survey of 1997(or maybe since 1965):
YOGA CLASSES
% W om en/Men

10 0 W o me n 80 Men

60

40

20

One dramatic change that seems to have occurred since the 1997 survey is the move of teacher from working for LEAs to becoming self-employed. [ as this figure is based on website analysis and cant be taken as a 100% certainty ].
EMPLOYMENT SYSTEM
From 1997 National Survey
70 60 50 40 40 30 30 20 10 0 Em plo ye d Self Em plo ye d 0 20 10 Emp loyed Self Em ployed 80 70 60 50

EMPLOYMENT SYSTEM
Website Analysis

In the 1997 National Survey ( we try to obtain an indication on how many classes per week were being taught by individual teachers. No known current update is available.

Classes per Week/Teacher

Legend

1 Class 2 Classes 3 Classes 4 Classes 5 Classes 6 Classes

7 Classes 8 Classes 9 Classes 10 Classes 11+ Classes

Number of Classes per Week

One of the big surprises when the national survey was carried out is shown in the above where the biggest group of teachers were those running one class a week No current figures are available but based on a brief analysis on classes published on BWY web sites this seems to have changed considerably, However the classes published on website might not be a total picture as it seems it is only the more organised teachers advertise their classes on the regional websites. It is suspected that with the changes in employment and the availability of suitable halls, the average number of students per class may have fallen.

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Average Number of Students per Class

Na tional Yoga Surve y - 19 97

Class Make Up- Age

Average Age of Students

50

40

Nos1-5 Nos6-10 Nos11-15 16-20 21-15 26-30

60
Under 20 years 20-40 ye ars

50 40 % 30

41-60 ye ars over 60 yea rs

30

20
20

10

10 0

The average age of students in classes may have also due to ethnic and age changes in the population, but there does not appear to be data available on these aspects.

BWY Teacher Training

In the 1960s, the majority of yoga classes were in the UK were with LEAs (Local Education Authorities) and it was soon apparent that the LEA colleges wanted some reassurance that the Yoga teachers they were employing were competent and were qualified to teach. Before 1970, teacher training was run on what would be best described as an apprenticeship scheme. The Wheel kept a list of people authorised to run teacher training courses. The list was originally kept in the Grey Book by the BWY Organiser/Hon.Gen Sec. Until 1970, the Wheel had no agreed teaching syllabus and qualification were awarded by people with some standing in the organisation ( these people where later to become T.E.T.s ). The Wheel offered a teaching certificate to people they considered competent.

Examples of early Wheel Teaching Certificates

Pre-1970

September 1971

May 1973

June 1973

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The glorious technicolour diploma was the first the Wheel produced and this was before the days of computer artwork. You will also see on the teaching diploma for 1971, the qualification specified or limited the areas of knowledge that one could teach. Three categories existed (a) Medical: and this was restricted to people like doctors, nurses and some people with a medical back or some training in health care (b) Philosophical: limited to those who went deeply into the Classical Texts, and last but not least ~ (c) Physical which most of the plebs got. At some point a directive went out saying it was not appropriate for teachers to teach outside their mandate. As no one could ascertain who were the spiritual regulators, the idea of categories was quietly dropped and the diploma re-worded to people meeting the requisite examinations in the physical and philosophical aspects of yoga . Things dramatically changed in 1969 when the Inner London Educational Authority (ILEA) decided that only teachers approved by Iyengar could teach yoga in the boroughs controlled by the authority. Around this time ILEA were a very influential and powerful educational agency in the UK and their influence extended far outside of the London area. There were however, LEAs already running non Iyengar yoga classes and as these were rapidly developing as a valuable source of income. That move by ILEA was successfully opposed by the Wheel and the Albion Yoga Movement and also by Monty Barnes who the principal of the Montem Institute / Adult Education Institute in Holloway( and also part of ILEA). The first BWY Diploma course was developed by Chris Stevens is shown below.

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In developing the course, the contributions from a broad spectrum of experts produced a national training syllabus that would give students a thorough grounding in all aspects of yoga i.e. from the basic Classical Texts plus Physiological and Psychological aspects of yoga, through to Professional Aspects of Teaching. It had the advantage of not being based on a single authority of knowledge. It was felt that this would create a sound platform from which students could develop their own individual path.The course specialists were: Velta Wilson, Ken Thompson, Vam Morais, Tony Crisp, Wilfred Clark, Swami Purnanda, Karel Werner, Kevin Kingsland, Cynthia Price, Frank Chandra and Monty Barnes. The first BWY teaching diploma course on the above syllabus was run in 1971 by Ken Thompson in Essex at the Hermitage [ Brentwood Evening Institute ]. Other courses soon followed with Velta Wilson in North London, Beryl Norton in Leicestershire, Hildegard Andreyev in Bedfordshire and Hilton Francis in Norfolk. All were run under the auspices of LEAs and in the 1970s the bulk of teacher training continued in this manner/fashion. Chris Stevens original intention was to provide a platform from where the Wheels education side could develop. Since that time the diploma training has changed the length of training has increased and there have been five upgrades and modifications to the original course [1975,1979,1983,1985,1992 ] The Diploma Teacher Training Syllabus was totally re-written in 1995. Like many things in the organisation, we evaluated, progressed and developed our systems when required. One of the Wheels first education advisers, Monty Barnes, although not a yoga teacher and adviser on the first BWY syllabus, gave a talk in 1972 to what he believed should be the personal objectives of a Yoga Teacher and gave fourteen goals that all teachers should work towards. They are still valid today Personnel Objectives for the Yoga Tutor The methods for teaching Yoga must be morally acceptable Each course must be planned ~ there must be a goal There has to be planned means of reaching the course's objectives/goal. There can be goal displacement There must be a means of evaluating progress. The tutor must work to improve skills in recognising similarities and differences between groups of students in relation to their physical and mental make-up. To improve observational skills and recognise the needs for modifications and develop methods and techniques to meet the individual student's needs ( there must be individualisation ) The tutor must learn as well as teach. The field of learning must be open ended. Indoctrination must be avoided. There must be an experience of success for both tutor and student. There must be overspill into other spheres of human activity and learning There should be modification of bad attitudes and reinforcement of good attitudes. We must accept the idea that there is no body of assured knowledge. Monty Barnes, Montem Adult Education 1972.

One key phrase, which was relevant in the effort to stop an single yoga organisation being accepted as the sole teaching authority is the last point in Mr Barnes lecture: We must accept the idea that there is no body of assured knowledge . Another key point was: the needs for modifications and develop methods and techniques to meet the individual student's needs The training side of the Wheel has expanded not only by developing the Teacher Training Syllabus but by offering Foundation Courses[two levels] and two types of Modules ~ Personal Development modules - which are open to all members of BWY; and Teacher Training modules - open to any yoga teacher with an approved teaching qualification, BWY or other. Currently modules include: Teaching Yoga To Children, Pregnancy, Post-Natal, Ayurveda, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutra, Meditation, Pranayama, People Living with Cancer. In the near future there will also be modules covering Vedic Chanting, Anatomy and Physiology and Baby Yoga. Many other yoga organizations have based their teaching systems on the Wheels formula.

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A national list of TETs/DCTs (234) from 1967 up to 2000 can be found in the BWY Management Review 1999/2000. Im not certain if this list has been updated. From 1973 the issue( acceptable teaching qualifications ) ran on with the for decades with correspondence and meetings between the main yoga organisations. The ramifications developed into the discussions on a Governing Body for Yoga and rumbled on for thirty years. It eventually led to a decision by the Sports Council to award the Wheel the Governing Body status. Part of this decision directed the Wheel keep a dialogue going with other Yoga organisations. Since then the Wheel have always pursued the approach of offering accreditation to other yoga organisations whose teacher training syllabus was equal or better than BWYs.

BWY Newsletters/Magazines
The Wheel produced a number of regular publications during its early development, the main (early)ones being: Yoga: Journal of The Wheel of Yoga ( the original quarterly BWY magazine, usually numbering 16-36 pages), BWY Bulletins Nos 1-26(often a folded broadsheet)and Y.E.S.(the quarterly Yoga Educational Supplement) ~ the latter intended for BWY teachers. In an article in Yoga Journal (1983) Joy Burling is quoted as saying, that the very first publication was produced on an old typewriter and was simply typed and re-typed using carbons and ran to 16 copies. The quarterly magazine was re-titled Spectrum in 1979 and had a simple two-colour cover with a simple geometric design that changed with each issue.
.

An early BWY Journal

BWY~Yoga Education Supplement(Y.E.S)

The first Spectrum

First photo cover The first A4 size Spectrum Current style of Spectrum Initially all Wheel publications were in old Imperial 6x8.5 and then we moved to A5 and then to the current larger format size in Spring 1993

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The cover of Spectrum changed from the geometric pattern to a three colour front page with yoga postures and a yantra design in the background (but sometimes just a simple yantra design ). The magazine has been gradually evolving since. Looking back through copies of the magazine, the journal did have an old fashioned look to it, even into the 80s, and photographs only started to appear on the cover in 1986. One thing that restricted the development of the magazine was funding. The organisation started to grow and funding became available just as printing technology developed and became cheaper. In Spring 1988, we used a painting on the cover to announce the launch of our first fully staffed administration centre (Central Office) at 1 Hamilton Place, Boston Road, Sleaford, Lincs

Wheel Booklets / BWY Services

In the early days of the Wheel few books were readily available except at specialist bookshops. Local Libraries were overwhelmed by people looking for books on yoga. If a book was obtained by a local library, word got around and the waiting list became very, very long. From the early days the Wheel produced booklets for its members and a number of publication were produced

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Below is a copy of taken from Spectrum [Winter 1998 ] detailing books and accessories available from BWY Services.

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. BWY also produced a number of a number of popular leaflets aimed at offering yoga teachers support by way of hand-outs in their classes. With the advent of home computers, and many of the more professional teachers producing their own hand-outs, the need for this type of support declined.

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BWY Services was started and initially run by Nigel Wissett-Warner and later by Yvonne Muir. In 1988 and through to 2004 the Wheel supported its members through BWY Services supplying yoga accessories, yoga mats, publications, etc. Yvonne and her team ran the BWY stand at Congress for many years. When Central Office came into being, it became easier to run BWY Services from the Central Office but eventually, and for commercial reasons, in September 2004 BWY Services ceased operation after many years and the business was contracted out and BWY-Shop was launched as its replacement,

The Wheel ~ the journey to having an Administration Centre

The loss of the building at Acacia House made some of the membership very wary of raising funds for purchasing a new centre. This meant that, for the first twenty years of its life, and the administration of organisation relied entirely on a number of individuals who gave up their time and energy to ensure the organisation kept going. Everything, from collecting of the annual subscriptions (originally done by county representatives), the finances, correspondence (both national and regional), diploma syllabus development, enquiries to be answered, record keeping, magazines were sent out, training course were organised, etc. was maintained by the huge number of job holders. When you consider that, apart from the Chair, V/Chair, Hon Gen Sec, Treasurer and Education Chair there were eleven regional officers, fifty-six county representatives, eleven regional treasurers a similar number of magazine/newsletter editors, etc. , all keeping their notes/minutes/correspondence/ records/ membership lists, etc. in various repositories around the country, it was a complex operating system. Few had the luxury of a desk and it was usually the kitchen or dining room table that was used. In effect we had many individuals all around the country making daily management decisions. The problem of continually changing the address when the post of Chair and Hon. Gen. Sec. changed as not appreciated in some quarters of the Wheel. Although the idea of a home of our own was mooted throughout the 70s it was only when, by a majority a vote at the 1984 AGM, that it was agreed that we needed a centre. Many members did not appreciate that as a national organisation the having to change the address every time there were changes to the Chair or Hon.Gen.Sec was a serious issue. The initial plan that was mooted was for an administration centre plus a residential centre where small yoga events could be run throughout the year. Such a centre would also provide a suitable place for the main committee/ executive to meet. The important thing was to raise the money. A subcommittee was set up comprising of Colin RyderRichardson, Ken Thompson and John Cain to promote fundraising and look for suitable premises. Many people threw themselves into the fund-raising and totally committed them-selves wholeheartedly into the task. Eastern Region, by events such as seminars and donations from the members raised a third of the money needed to purchase the Wheels first administration centre. The decision to locate the centre in the Lincolnshire was made on the basis that it was reasonably central for the UK and property prices were low. We purchased the centre in Sleaford in 1988 (1 Hamilton Place, Boston Road, Sleaford ~ formerly a Providence/Baptist chapel built in 1808 ).

In 1998 the Wheel looked at a brown-field site belonging to the NCB in Nottinghamshire. The organisation were examining ways of building a purpose built residential centre which would include an

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administration centre. The outcome was dependent what grants were available. An architect was commissioned and plans were drawn up but the project was eventually shelved. Twelve years later, having outgrown the original premises, Central Office moved to larger premises (26 Jermyn Street, Sleaford) in the latter part of 2000. These days, it is inconceivable how the organisation would progress without a central administration base. The BWY executive voted in 1999 to create a position of Chief Executive Officer(CEO) as a full-time paid employee. In effect, someone who would be the chief administrator for the organisation and ensure a level of continuity in the administration. Our first CEO, Adrienne Wallman, was appointed as our first C.E.O. in November 1999.

The First BWY Central Administration Office

The current BWY Central Administration Office

The Wheel and Marketing

For the first thirty years of its existence the biggest problem on developing a marketing policy for a national organisation was that the person doing the role had to balance their own full time job in the outside world to the demands of the organisation. The major driving force on marketing was John Parry who did sterling work in promoting the Wheel at many events with very little available funding. To give the Wheel a presence at events like the Festival of Movement & Dance, funding was scraped together or in the case of the Festival of Mind & Body Festivals, space was offered to us on the stand rented by Angelas Yoga Books. In 1998 we appealed, through Spectrum, for people with marketing experience to formulate a Marketing Policy for the Wheel. Eight people came forward and after an initial meeting began to create a marketing strategy for the organisation. This culminated in meetings, including a working residential week-end at London Colney The group was headed up by a West London member[Stuart Mills]. A marketing presentation was made the BWY Executive in 1999.Many of the Exec didnt react in a positive way At about the same time Portland Green of the CCPR ( now Sports and Recreation Alliance ) put forward a marketing template for organisations that were, like us, mainly staffed by volunteers. The Wheels first CEO, Adrienne Wallman, tried to address the problem and motivate the organisation towards developing a marketing strategy, but the many of the Exec didnt react in a positive way. The Wheel created the post of National Marketing Officer in 2006 with Emma Evans in the role. Emma stayed in the role for two years and the marketing responsibility was taken over by Pierre Bibby when he was appointed the Wheels CEO

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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EASTERN REGION AND ITS PLACE IN THE WHEEL

The Way that Eastern Region is run and administered
The membership of the region averages about 1000 members. Eastern Region is managed by a Regional Officer who chairs the Regional Committee. A schematic diagram of the regions organisation is shown below:

The Region is administered by the Regional Committee, comprised of: the Regional Officer, Regional Treasurer, Regional Editor, County Representatives, Regional Training Officer, Marketing Officer, Website Admin, Committee Secretary and co-opted members. The purpose of the Regional Committee is to co-ordinate Wheel activities within the region and offer a platform for the counties to share ideas regarding growth, finance, local issues and future planning. Those serving on the Regional Committee give their time voluntary. The committee usually meets four times a year Committee members are elected at the Regions AGM. . The Regional Officer is the committees line manager and acts as the link between the region and the national organisation. The Regional Officer is a member the BWY Regional Officers Committee, three of whom sit on the National Executive. With the growth of the region, we are trying to develop teams to organised events and seminars in the counties to meet the needs of our members and others, interested in all aspects of yoga. Any member of the organisation can be part of a county team and we welcome people to help out in the various areas and support the county representatives. Anyone in the region requesting advice, presenting a query, a problem, or a complaint, should in the first instance, contact their County Representative, who is their line manager, and usually the County Representative can deal with everyday queries. The Regional Officer and other members of the committee are also available to support the County Representative and help deal with queries.

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Our Regional Officers

Initially in the development of the Wheel, Eastern Region was part BWY's South East Region, which included the regions that are now London, South and South East. Eastern Region came into being as a separate B.W.Y. region in 1975, when the British Wheel of Yoga expanded to eleven regions. There are now eleven regions plus Scotland which joined, as an entity, in 2008 The Regional Officer represents the Region at the Regional Officers Committee (Exec - minus1) Eastern ~ Regional Officer ~ Roll of Honour Ken Thompson Brian Down Bob Bury Julia Nichols John Cain Position Vacant John Green Jonathan Heath John King Position Vacant Gill Pendreich Helen Smith Ian Burgess Kari Knight 1974-1978 1978-1980 1980-1982 1982 1982-1993 1994 1994-1996 1997-1999 1999-2000 2000-2002 2002-2004 2004-2007 2007-2010 2010-

The first Regional Officer for Eastern Region was Ken Thompson and initially we only had five counties in our Region ~ Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, with Cambridge coming into Region late in 1975, bringing us up to six counties. Essex was divided into two sections in 1987 from a line 'East of Brentwood', when the membership of the county reached 368 members. Please note: the Wheel (and other organisations still use the old county boundaries~ London as the LCC and Essex with the River Lea as its western boundary). A similar situation occurs on Herts/London border of our region. John Cain writes: I

took over the job of Regional Officer at a time when there seemed to be no written systems or guidance for running the regions. I was lucky to have a tremendous group of County Representatives who worked their socks off for the region. Between us we put the region on a firm financial footing and developed a basic, documented, working structure. It was hard work, but a lot of fun. Helen Smith writes: I guess the main reason I thought I would have a go at the Regional Officer role was that I thought it would be an interesting challenge and I would get to know what goes on. Well so far I have not been disappointed, I've met loads of nice people, been to places and events I hadn't been to before and its been brilliant. What I did not foresee was that part of my duties as Regional Officer at Congress 2005 was to dress up as a circus performer and appear on stage! I still don't quite know how that happened Ian Burgess writes: I stepped into the role of Acting Regional Officer when Helen left to become Wheel chair in the Summer of 2007 and was voted into office in October of that year. I had been a County Representative for fourteen years and leaving that position left me free to take on the task of RO. I had never had any ambition to be a Regional Officer and it was never my intention of staying in the job for the full term of five years. I handed over to our current (2011) RO Kari Knight in October 2010. Whilst I found working as Regional Officer very engaging and rewarding the job is not without its drawbacks. One becomes very involved with the running of the organisation both nationally and locally, which is wonderfully satisfying but can become very time consuming.

Regional Treasurer
The Regional Treasurer oversees the regional finances in accordance with the BWY guidelines and the Charities Commissioner regulations.

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Regional Treasurer ~ Roll of Honour

Maude Defty Betty Belsham Ian Burgess Hugh Frost David Primett Lauren Maddran 1976-1989 1990-1991 1991-1993 1993-2004 2004-2010 2010-2011

It is one of the most important roles in the region and involves not only administering the regions funds, but also preparing the annual accounts which are forwarded to the National Treasurer David Primmet writes: 'I am now in my second year as Treasurer, having taking over from the excellent

work of Hugh Frost. He ran the Region's finances for many years and BWY Services locally. Whilst most of my time is spent dealing with the payments and receipts I am active in the Regional Committee, and am hoping in the near future to assist in running the first Regional Festival in the East. I am enjoying seeing the work of the Wheel evolve."

The County Representatives

Each county has its own representative who is part of the decision-making group that manages the regions affairs.

County Representatives ~ Roll of Honour

Bob Bury Hildegard Andreyev Roy Islip Hilton Francis Ken Thompson Maude Defty Rita Gregory Vi McKenna Hazel Fisher Kerstin Elliott Joan Wyatt Hugh Frost Jeanette Armsworth Daphne Feavers Ann Barney Brain Down Roy Stevens Valerie Langford Thelma Lovewell Bob Roberts Ann Davenport Carole Tovell Dianna Ship Margaret Townroe Hugh Frost Joey Robertson Joan Roche Sally Studd Roy Stevens Annie Knights Angie Jacobs Catherine Linton Margaret Woodley Dennis Gladwin Mary Thurston Jill Turner Anne Sparkes Angela Uff Rita Bartholomew Gill Pendriech Charlotte Prudhomme Yvonne Jones Megan Joyce John & Kay King Jan Cory Kerry Bryant Jeremy Jones Dorothy Turner Ian Burgess Anne Woolnough Chrissie Clarke Lorraine Croxford Phil Ansty Chris Watson Fiona Mason Carole Ledger Beverley Nolan Mike Beaven Sophie Massey Enid Feinson Emma Escott Kari Knight Jacquelyn Cooper Karen McQueen Sophie Leek Annya Stoddart Debbie Falchi Karin Horowitz

When the region was originally set up, the CRs were responsible for collecting subscriptions, sending out the Wheels magazine and the news -letters, organising seminars and answering queries from the county or people looking for classes. Ian Burgess writes: I became County Rep for West Essex in 1993. To be absolutely honest I only took the job

on to give myself an excuse to give up being County Treasurer. Why on earth I did that Ive no idea because I am totally useless at figure work*. Gill Pendreich had been looking for a replacement CR for herself for about 18months and someone said to me you know as a County Rep you dont actually have to do very much. Well,

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what a misrepresenter of facts that person turned out to be (notice the P.C.-ness here!) In the main, though, being a CR has been a pleasure even including Regional Committee meetings. As it happens, these meetings are one of the pleasures of the job especially when we go punting on the Cam afterwards! Of course, there have been downsides but ( in the words of the Frank Sinatra song) too few to mention. I love being C.R. and Ill continue with it as long as Im able and while people let me. Hari Om Kerstin Elliott writes: [written in the shade of a hazel tree] I was persuaded to stand-in as temporary County Rep by Julia Nichols in the early eighties and 14 years later was still there. ! In the meantime ~ it was a lot of work at times but also very enjoyable. I got to know so many of the Herts members and its teachers as well as the other officers in the region. It opened my eyes to the pleasures of going to seminars, courses and the Wheels Congress. The support of the members especially in St Albans, meant I could benefit from the insights of many different and wonderful teachers. Mike Beaven writes: My Yogic path seems rather back to front. I learnt TM in my early thirties and began attending Yoga lessons when I reached 65. I went on a Foundation course at 67, became County Rep for Norfolk at 68 and started on a Diploma course at 72, began teaching at 73 and will hopefully qualify at 75 . Wish I had discovered Yoga a lot earlier. Being County Rep.is hard work but made a lot easier in Norfolk with the support of a terrific committee. The role is such an interesting and rewarding experience that I would thoroughly recommend it to anybody who has the opportunity .

Regional Magazine
The first Regional Magazine for Eastern Region, which was called Satsang, was put together by Brian Down in 1975. In 1979 Brian handed over the reins to Jenny Surry when he became Regional Officer. Satsang ran for twelve issues and then ceased publication. The Wheel realised that there was a need for local regional newsletters and in 1980 it was agreed that a per capita payment should be made to the regions specifically to help promote local events. The regional magazine was re-started in 1983 and by this time the regional funds had sunk to an all time low [ 25..00 ] and there wasnt enough in the kitty to cover general correspondence or sending out diplomas, etc, let alone produce a magazine. It was the financial input from some Essex teachers, led by Rita Gregory, that enabled us to get the first editions out.

The cover of very first edition of the Eastern Region Magazine that we produced called:

Satsang

The re-birth of the regional magazine, titled Yoga-East ~ although from the front cover design most regional members thought it was Yeast and the name stuck.

The current version of the regional magazine now professionally printed and the title modified to read:

Yogaeast

The resurrected magazine was put together by John Cain and Bernard Booty and was printed on a second [or third]-hand Gestetner machine. Initially the new magazine wasnt as big as the version started by Brian and Jenny. It was just three double sided sheets of A4 simply stapled together; In 1984 we got back to the folded version and went up to sixteen pages.

Page 20 of 35

Molly Allen took over from John. Since then the magazine has continued under several editors ~ Anne Heyden, Marion Pidgeon, Christine Matthiesson, Kay Russell, Fran Hiller, Debbie Kilby, Caroline Bradley and Anne Raymond and all have enabled the magazine to develop and move forward. The regional magazine is sent out quarterly ~ originally by the County Reps but now distributed by the printer. It is the one way we have of physically keeping in touch with our membership advising and them of events and keeping them in touch with news in the counties

Regional Editor ~ Roll of Honour

Brian Down Jenny Surey No Regional Magazine John Cain Molly Allen Anne Heyden Marion Pidgeon/Christine Matthiesson Kay Russell Fran Hiller Debbie Kilby Caroline Bradley Anne Raymond 1978-1979 1979-1980 - - - 1982-1984 1984-1989 1989-1992 1993-1996 1997-2002 2002-2005 2005-2006 2006-2008 2008-

I enjoyed being Regional Editor. The incoming mail was highly entertaining and informative. Turning back to another era [apologies to younger members], I used to type out all the info on an old pre-electric typewriter, then collate it and send it to John Cain and Bernard Booty who ran it off on an old Gestetner machine. Then they would staple the pages together to send out to the county representatives Kay Russell writes: I grew to love it, even the hair-standing-on-end, flying-by-the-pants bits (in retrospect) and miss it still. Coping with technology - a mystery and a challenge; from IBM to Apple Mac and back again. Getting to know and still be friends with so many people. The enormous satisfaction of seeing each copy in print Feeling useful. Thanks to all of you who convinced me I could do the job of regional editor.
Molly Allen writes:

Regional Website [ www.yoga-east.co.uk ]

In 2003 Gill Pendreich asked John Cain to develop a Regional Website. John, by means of a 37 pensioners website course, produced Eastern Regions first website. All the members in the region were canvassed on what sort of website they wanted and its content. The response from members was varied but a compromise was reached between what they wanted and what was achievable within the budget. The suggestion we should have one like the BBCs website was thought to be too ambitious. The website was launched in September 2004. In 2001, the site was redesigned by Bob Brace(a Herts member) upgrading and modernising the old site and make it more interactive for the regions members. Members can now login and take control over their own class information and contribute to features and news. The county representatives can now edit the websites Diary Page. A major problem with the old site was that many teachers were not very good at keeping their class information up to date. This lack of professionalism did not present a good image to the general public of the region ( or our teachers). One the new system teacher must renew class information/ details of their classes annually or the information is automatically removed. John Cain writes: My computer skills were very limited but I produced a low technology rather unsophisticated

site which worked and got excellent Google rating ~ and we slowly developed the site ~ mainly by trial and error. The site ran for six years but peoples expectations and the growth of the internet communications technology made it obvious the site had outlived its usefulness.

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Diploma Course Tutors and Teacher Training in the Region

In 1995 to support teacher training and in-service-training, the position of Regional Training Officer was introduced. The aim being to oversee and co-ordinate in-service-training in the region.

Training Officer
Jeanette Morton-Holmes Gill Pendreich Dorothy Turner Margaret Woodley Gill Pendreich Vonnie Bloom 1995-97 1997-02 2002-03 2003-06 2006-09 2009

Gill Pendreich: "Whilst I was RTO I campaigned for annual IST to be made compulsory for all Diploma Holders

and that insurance to be withdrawn for those who did not attend. The year that I retired as R.O I was delighted to see that it has finally been adopted. If you want to get to know other people in the BWY and how the 'Wheel' works, take on a voluntary job; you might even enjoy it!"
Three of the first five BWY teachers training courses were run in Eastern. We believe that over 124 teacher training courses have been run in Eastern Region. We have been blessed with DCTs that have helped the region to grow.

Eastern Region D.C.Ts

Name App. Name

~ Roll of Honour
App Name App.

Hildegarde Andreyev June Baker Vonnie Bloom Ian Burgess John Cain Swami Dharmananda Brian Down Tabitha Evans Pauline Fleming Elaine Fletcher Elianne Flower Hilton Francis Gwen Gwatkin Diane Hallett Megan Joyce Derek Lucas Nicki King Sandra Kruger

1971 1982 1999 1986 1980 1976 1976 2001 2008 2001 1991 1971 ----xxxx 1990 2001 1992 -----

Andrea Kwiatkowski Angela McDonald Miki Marks Bridget Minor Jeanette MortonHolmes Jayantibal Patel Gillian Pendreich Steven Philips Elaine Powell Charlotte Prudhomme Ian Rawlinson Cheryl Ray Bob Roberts Diana Silk Helen Smith Eileen Smith-Williams Peter Taylor-Woods

2006 1982 1999 1987 1991 1978 1990 1988 1984 1995 1975 1980 1976 1976 2006 1971 1983

Angela Thompson Thompson Ken Margaret Townroe Ann Weston Tug Wilson Lian Wimmer Margaret Woodley Rosie Wright

1979 1970 1985 1990 1984 1978 2007 2008

In the early days of the Wheel ~ from September 1971 through to 1984, people running courses were known as Teacher Educational Tutors[TETs]. Pre-1971 a number of people were listed by the Wheel as having sufficient knowledge to trained teachers under an apprenticeship scheme. Ken Thompson writes: Chris Stevens, with the help of Velta Wilson and myself put together the first

educationally approved BWY teacher training course in 1970/71. It was a 90 hours, one year course. I ran the first one in Essex (Sep 1971) from the 'Hermitage', Brentwood Evening Institute. This all came about because of the need for the 'Wheel' to combat the problem when ILEA brought out a ruling that only Iyengar train teachers could teach in their area.

Regional Website [ www.yoga-east.co.uk ]

In 2003 Gill Pendreich asked John Cain to develop a Regional Website. John, by means of a 37 pensioners website course, produced Eastern Regions first website. All the members in the region

Page 22 of 35

were canvassed on what sort of website they wanted and its content. The response from members was varied but a compromise was reached between what they wanted and what was achievable within the budget. The suggestion we should have one like the BBCs website was thought to be too ambitious. The website was launched in September 2004. The site was redesigned by Bob Brace in 2011 to modernise the old site and make it more interactive for the regions members. Members can now login and take control over their own class information and contribute to features and news. The county representatives can now edit the websites Diary Page. A major problem with the old site was that many teachers were not very good at keeping their class information up to date. This lack of professionalism did not present a good image to the general public of the region ( or our teachers). One the new system teacher must renew class information/ details of their classes annually or the information is automatically removed. John Cain writes: My computer skills were very limited but I produced a low technology rather unsophisticated

site which worked and got excellent Google rating ~ and we slowly developed the site ~ mainly by trial and error. The site ran for six years but peoples expectations and the growth of the internet communications technology made it obvious the site had outlived its usefulness. The upgrade was developed by Bob Brace, a Herts member and re-launched in August 2011

Regional Marketing Officer

There have been at least three attempts to develop a marketing strategy within the region and the role of Regional Marketing Officer is probably one of the hardest roles to fill as it requires a knowledge of marketing techniques appropriate to the region. The difficulties in the role are many but each person has tried with some success with very limited resources to take the region forward. It is a role that the region needs to develop and made harder by no overall national policy.

Regional Marketing ~ Roll of Honour

Jill Turner Position Vacant Ada Shum Position Vacant Tracey Norman 1999-2001 ------2005-2007 ------2010-2011

Eastern Region and its place in the Wheel.

Eastern Region are one of the bigger regions in the reorganisation The size of the region means we have to put a lot more effort into running the regional events and also its training programmes ~ both in teacher training, in-service training and seminars for members. Below are the membership totals of the BWY regions in 2010 [excluding overseas members ].
BW Y MEM BERSHIP 20 11
B Y R E G IO N
1400

1200

London S / East Eastern S / West South N / West E / Mid s Yorks W / Mids Wales North Scotland
REG IONS

1000

800

600

400

200

Page 23 of 35

The membership of the region has been one of good growth. The membership of the region is varied, with teachers accounting for just half the membership. Below are the growth trends of the BWY regions up to Oct 2010:

Growth by Regions
1 4 00

1 2 00

1 0 00

800

600

Wales North N / West Yorks E / Mids W / Mids Eastern London S / East South S / West Scotland

400

200

0 1 9 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 '0 0 '0 1 '0 2 '0 3 '0 4 '0 5 '0 6 '0 7 '0 8 '0 9 '1 0 11 12

About 12.3% of the regional membership are trainee teachers. Since its inception, the development of the region has been largely due to the efforts of the County Representatives and the officers in the region. Below is the breakdown of Eastern Region Membership for 2010:

EASTERN REGION 2010

1 20 0
Total
1042

Non Dip &S/Teach Non Dip Teachers Stu. Teachers DCTs

1 00 0

8 00

6 00
504 528 399

4 00

2 00
105

10

The region runs, on average, 40-50 events a year, with members getting a 25% minimum discount on the vast majority of events. The seminars, events and in-service training days bring in a wide variety of tutors from many varied disciplines and organisations, so that our membership can be brought into contact with a great variety of ideas and philosophies and facets of the activity. These events are listed along with full details of the day in the regional magazine and the regions website. Apart from running two of the first three Wheels Diploma courses, the region has always been very active in the organisation and has always been one of the largest regions in the Wheel.

Page 24 of 35

Running the region is a bit complex

You will see from above the size and interactions within the organisation are complex. Any large organisation staffed mainly by volunteers, will always be difficult to run.

The complexity of the organisation can be summed up by Janet Southall( a former DCT and London County Rep):
" the Wheel tries to do many things: it tries to be the coordinating body for yoga, run an

administration office efficiently, advises the public on general enquiries, answer queries from our members, trains teachers, supports the regions, looks at legislation and its possible impact on the activity .and sometimes Yoga gets in the way".

Page 25 of 35

The Future
Since Yoga in the UK blossomed in the mid sixties, we are now seeing yoga classes frequently being run in schools, prisons, hospitals, corporate offices and other establishments as the norm rather than the exception. Where will the new directions be coming from and how will progress? Thats up to our members. The history/development of yoga has always been one of interpretation and modification, and although yoga has always been presented as 'something more' than physical, that cannot be simply as a group experience but an aspect of an intangible personal experience. The gains of stress reduction, exercise, relaxation and better health were self-evident to many practitioners. Another benefit is that yoga, as an experience, has always fitted comfortably between secularism and religion. How we progress and widen our horizon is a difficult challenge. Yoga practitioners have often found not only a physical benefit but a meaning and spiritual purpose in their lives through what can be regarded a relatively uncontroversial physical practice. In 1995 the Wheel published its first Ethics Statement and this was updated in 2006 and published on the Wheels website, that year. In 2006 the Wheel also published its Commitment to Equity statement:

The British Wheel of Yoga recognises the value of physical and spiritual activity and the important role it plays in enhancing the quality of life. Our aims are to encourage and help all persons to a greater knowledge and understanding of all aspects of Yoga and its practice by provision of study, education and training, to maintain and improve the standard of teaching of yoga and to cooperate with and support other organisations having similar aims. We are committed to ensuring that opportunities are accessible to all those who wish to participate in Yoga. We firmly believe that everyone should have the opportunity to participate in Yoga activity regardless of their age, gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, nationality, colour, parental or marital status, religious belief, class or social background, sexual preference or political belief. We are committed to working in partnership to ensure that there is equal access and choice for everyone wishing to be involved in Yoga activity, whether as a participant or as a volunteer. We acknowledge that inequalities exist and will take positive action to minimise them.
The vast majority of people attending classes in the UK are still from a white, female, middle class background, an older age group ~ mostly over the age of 40. Taking yoga beyond that group to the population as a whole is a relatively short term development. It seems probable that as yoga moves out of `the studio' and into these areas some regulation is inevitable and the same is true of commercialisation. Yoga will change in thevery long term and absorb concepts and new ways, medical discoveries, advances in psychology and the way we use our bodies. It will slowly absorb other approaches to personal development. That will happen no matter what the fundamentalist try to do. One thing is certain: everything evolves, whether it is a belief, a language, an organism or an ocean. When Monty Barnes said of Yoga in 1972 We must accept the idea that there is no body of assured knowledge he was simply stating a basic truth. Two thousand years ago Patanjali, in 196 short sutras, identified the basic foundation of yoga. Those terse instructions will remain as the foundation ofr yoga But we dont know exactly what yoga was taught 2000 years ago, how it was taught and we dont even know how Sanskrit was pronounced. As an example, one only has to look how the reciting of the Lords Prayer has changed in the last 1000 years in this country to see how things alter. Some yoga teachers and groups have distanced themselves from change declaring that they teach classical yoga but people aligning themselves to a particular style or guru automatically prejudices their personal development ~ orthodoxy is in the eye of the beholder. There is no one-size-fits-all yoga and never will be. There will always be authorities in yoga ~ globally and locally, but their influences or importance are transitory and will always be limited to a few generations and in their passing, their ideas will be modified and their statements misquoted however, any good kernel of truth with remain to assist in the new thinking of new enquirers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Page 26 of 35

The National Organisation (An Overview):

The British Wheel of Yoga is a registered charity and is the largest yoga organisation in the country with over 8000 members. The British Wheel of Yoga is managed by a National Executive Committee (NEC) that makes strategic decisions on behalf of its members. There are eleven regions plus Scotland, each region is managed by an elected Regional Committee.

SCOTLAND

NORTH

YORKS & HUMBERSIDE NORTH WEST

EAST MIDLANDS WEST MIDLANDS WALES

EASTERN

SOUTH LONDON SOUTH WEST SOUTH EAST

Each of the eleven regions is subdivided into three to eight areas ~ usually counties but in large urban districts and some counties with a high membership, there are subdivisions to make administration easier. The counties, within the regions, membership varies considerably ranging from 40 members to over 400 members. The NEC comprises the BWY Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Education Committee Chair, and three Regional Officer Representatives. The Regional Officers Committee, which comprises of the Regional Officer from each of the BWY regions acts as the interface between the NEC and the regional membership. It is also a useful sounding board for developing Best Practice in the organisation. The organisations National Executive and the regional management(s) are elected by the membership, by postal vote, electronic and the results announced at the Regions Annual General Meeting,

Page 27 of 35

The Education Committee develops training courses and reviews and monitors the BWY's training portfolio to ensure it reflects current best practice. Decision making and policy is decided by the National Executive and these decision are carried on down through the organisation and Central Office which is a staffed administration centre in Sleaford, Lincolnshire: 25 Jermyn Street, Sleaford,Lincolnshire,NG34 7RU Tel: 01529 306851

In order for the organisation to work in a co-ordinated manner, it works to a series of agreed documented management systems which are regularly reviewed and developed so there is an agreed direction. The management systems are also there to meet the needs and requirements of the organisation and the regional membership. The Regional Committees, which are elected annually at the regions AGMs, consist of the Regional Officer, County Representatives, Regional Treasurer, Regional Editor, Website Administrator, I-S-T Officer, Marketing Officer, Committee Secretary, plus any co-opted members that are deemed necessary by the Regional Committee, All regions run a number of seminars and in-service training days that enable members to develop their knowledge of the activity. Within the regions there are also foundation courses, teacher training diploma courses and modules for specialist teaching. All regions produced a regional magazine, usually quarterly and have a regional website. Several counties have an internet newsletter. For the last fifteen years the Wheel have produced an annual statistical revue showing growth, at national, regional and county level, membership trends, etc. The statistical revue is designed as a management aid for planning/marketing, Variations in growth occur in different areas and regions which, in some cases, reflect the local area needs, local geography and the quality of management in those areas.

Page 28 of 35

National Governing Body For Yoga Although discussions on Governing Body for Yoga go back as far as 1973. It was almost entirely due to John Parrys persistence and liaison between ourselves and the Sports Council/CCPR that the subject of Governing Body for the Wheel was kept on the table through the 80s and 90s.

Chris Stevens (BWY Secretary) reported to the BWY Management Committee in Jan 1973:-.

The topic of Governing Body status started to accelerate in 1990 and we were told we would be awarded Associate Status ~ Governing Body. Note: Because a number of organisations throughout the area of physical recreation had applied for Governing Body[GB], the Sports Council had a two tier system: Full Governing Body status and Associate status. The withdrawal of Associate Status[Governing Body] was confirmed by Sheila Morrow[ Sports Council Governing Body Team Leader] to the BWY by letter dated 13/2/1992. Almost at the same time, we heard that the Iyengar Movement[LOYA] had approached the Sports Council to get Governing Body recognition.

Page 29 of 35

The Wheel contacted the nine major yoga organisations in England before any discussions took place. The purpose was to obtain their views on how we should go forward. Three organisations didnt respond, but a dialogue had been established between the Wheel and the majority of the organisations allowing us to present a case with their support. Discussions began between the Sports Council, LOYA and the Wheel in 1992. The deliberating went on for some time ~ actually 2 years. The Wheel was awarded Governing Body status in 1995. The BWY is recognised by Sport England and The Sport and Recreation Alliance (formally the CCPR) as the National Governing Body for Yoga in England. One of the early statements made by Wilfred Clark in 1974 was the fact that the Wheel was the only national coordinating body for Yoga and individuals and it renders help in many ways. This approach continues as the Wheel has policy statements on Safety, Child Protection, Equity and a Code of Ethical Conduct. These policy statements are available through the national website to Wheel members, other organisations and individuals. As the Governing Body, we accredit other yoga teacher training organisations. The organisation represents the UK at the European Federation of National Yoga Organisations and are a leading member of the European Union of Yoga. A history of the Governing Body process is available for Central Office. Like all democratic organisations, the Wheel will evolve and the fact that there is a time limit on how long people can stay in key National Executive positions, it gives the organisation the advantage that it must always evolve and no one person can dramatically change the nature and development.

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Page 30 of 35

Record of National Wheel Officers

Although Wilfred Clark founded the Wheel he was never the Chairman, he used the title National Organiser. The first elected BWY Chair, was Margaret Ward. ROLL OF HONOUR ~ BWY CHAIR Margaret Ward Bill File Joy Burling D.I.M. Robbins Ken Thompson Pat Chittananda Di Kendall Colin Ryder-Richardson John Cain Ken Simmons Monica Burton Heather Fleet Helen Smith Philip Clint John Sack 1965-1973 1973-1979 1979-1982 1982-1985 1985-1988 1988-1991 1991-1994 1993-1996 1996-1999 1999-2002 2002-2005 2005-2007 2007-2010 2010-2011 2011-

ROLL OF HONOUR Wilfred Clark(Organiser) Chris Stevens D.I.M. Robbins Vivian Worthington Satchittananda Joy Burling Janet Scales Di Kendal Nigel Wissett-Warner Vi Neale-Smith Moira Hardy-Smith Pat Sharpe.

HON GEN SECRETARY 1965-1971 1972-1975 1975-1976 1976-1978 1981-1982 1982-1985 1985-1986 1986-1990 1990-1993 1993-2002 2002-2007 2007-

ROLL OF HONOUR Catherine Pruggmeyer Bill File Karl Frances Donald Butler Joy Burling Gordon Denham Janet Green Colin Ryder Richardson Pat Chittananda John Davis Di Kendall John Cain Vi Neale-Smith Karin Rice Nigel Wissett-Warner John Parry Sandi Bottone Pat Sharpe

VICE CHAIR 1965-1972 1972-1972 1972-1974 1974-1978 1978-1979 1979-1982 1982-1983 1983-1985 1985-1988 1988-1990 1990-1990 1991-1994 1994-1997 1998-2002 2002-2005 2005 2005-2009 2009-

Page 31 of 35

ROLL OF HONOUR Margaret Ward Ted Lovett Karl Frances Lesley Kentfield Paul Harvey Colin Ryder-Richardson Linda Brookes Eric Gregory John Tsangalakis Ronald Anluaf Jean Nicholas Arun Gitani Jean Nicholas Philip Clint Patricia Ho

TREASURER

1965-1972 1972-1974 1974-1976 1976-1978 1978-1979 1980-1983 1983-1987 1987-1992 1992-1995 1995-2004 2004-2005 2005 2006 2007-2010 2010-

ROLL OF HONOUR Chris Stephens Beryl Norton Jean Oddy Sheila Muggleston Irene OMeara Di Kendall John Cain Sarah Ryan Pat Chittananda Hilary Macrea Lesley Isaacson Di Kendal

EDUCATION COMM. CHAIR 1969-1973 1973-1980 1980-1983 1983-1985 1985-1987 1988-1992 1992-1996 1996-1999 1999-2003 2003-2006 2006-2009 2009-

ROLL OF HONOUR Wilfred Clark Leslie Kentfield Chloris Morgan Lindy Randall Ruth Routh Rosemary Turner Hayley Winter Ruth Routh Colin Thompson Sarah Jane Wilson

YOGA/SPECTRUM EDITOR 1968-1973 1974-1976 1976-1979 1980-1987 1987-1991 1992-2003 2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-

YOGA-TWO/The World Over Alan Carter Devi Frazer-Lewis 1992-2004 2004-

Page 32 of 35

ROLL OF HONOUR

CUSTODIAN TRUSTEES

Wilfred Clark Margaret Ward Nellie Dalton John Davis D.I.M. Robbins Bill File Gordon Denham Joy Burling John Davis D.I.M. Robbins Ken Thompson Colin Ryder-Richardson Vi Neale-Smith
With BWY, the term Trustee initially referred to trustees responsible for legal property (Custodian Trustees). In 1984 the Wheel were advised that all elected members of the Executive Committee were Trustees (correspondence: Stevens and Bolton--1984). The Charity Commission (OG 38 C2~ 2001) made it clear that a Custodian Trustee could only work to directions of the NEC and not play a part in the management of the structure. The post(Custodian Trustees) was discontinued.

ROLL OF HONOUR Needs Completing Chris Stevens Velta Wilson Bob Bury Donald Butler Beryl Norton Bill Heilbron Janet Green Sue Wood Jean Oddy

EDUCATION COMMITTEE Sandra Sylvester Monica Burton Sarah Ryan Connie Pearce Wendy Haring Fay Beddowes Frances Taylor

Paul Goriup Janet Southall Di Kendall Ray Hills John Cain Gill Lloyd Sheila Muggleston Irene OMeara June Baker Margaret Woodley Gillian Gee

Eastern

HONOUR ROLL ~ REGIONAL OFFICERS East Midlands

London

Ken Thompson Brian Down Bob Bury Julia Nichols John Cain Position Vacant John Green Jonathan Heath John King Position Vacant Gill Pendreich Helen Smith Ian Burgess Kari Knight

1974-1978 1978-1980 1980-1982 1982 1982-1993 1994 1994-1996 1997-1999 1999-2000 2000-2002 2002-2004 2004-2007 2007-2010 2010

Bill Heilbron Beryl Norton Harold Rich Carole Wells Josey Woods Barbara Evelyn Moira Hardy-Smith Pat Sharpe Sandra Kirkham Eileen Fry

1975-1979 1979-1981 1981-1985 1985-1992 1992-1993 1993-1995 1995-2001 2001-2006 2006-2010 2010-

Leslie Kentfield Bill File Ken Thompson Antonia Boyle John Parry Monica Burton Ginny Plumpton Mary McKaye Miriam Lewis Chris Harrison

1974 1975-1980 1980-1984 1984-1989 1989-1996 1996-2002 2002 2002-2006 2006-2008 2008-

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North

HONOUR ROLL ~ REGIONAL OFFICERS North West

South

Hazel Ross Dorothy French Marjorie Thompson Lakshmi Walters Yvonne Muir Connie Olding Pat Rathbone Barry Garnett Vera Oates Maureen McCarthy

1974-1978 1978-1980 1980-1982 1982-1992 1992-1999 1999-2001 2001-2004 2004-2006 2006-2009 2009-

Betty Mulcaster Nellie Dalton Laurie Williamson Ken Simmons Dorothy Young Janet Irlam Christine Royal

1974 1975-1981 1982-1992 1992-2000 2000-2003 2003-2006 2006-

Joy Burling John Davis Jeanne Scott Paul Goriup N. Wissett-Warner Fay Beddowes Anne Flanagan Barry Gornall Eldegarde Moss Tim Lewis

1975-1977 1977-1982 1982-1984 1984-1989 1989-1990 1990-1993 1993-1999 1999-2005 2005-2009 2009-

HONOUR ROLL ~ REGIONAL OFFICERS South East South West Wales

Needs Completing Gordon Denham 1974-1977 Gill Lloyd 1977-1981 John Lacey 1981-1982 Dottie Hook 1982-1993 Anyone between Dottie & Jackie ? Jacky Thurston ???? Hilary MacRae 2002-2003 Penny Roberts 200? John Sack 200?

Joy Burling Janet Green Sue Wood Alan Oakman Geoff Morley Bob Roberts Frances Taylor Chris Smith Margaret Morton Nurit Faran Sandra Warren Monty Toplis Sandra Warren Monty Toplis Linda Morley

1974-1978 1978-1982 1982-1986 1985 1986-1990 1990-1991 1992 1993 1996-1998 1999 2000-2004 2004-2005 2006 2007 2008

Phil Jones Aldwyn Jones Alban Prickett Vi Neal Smith Mary Stott Ann Lewis Joy Beveridge

1974-1976 1976-1979 1979-1984 1984-1991 1991-2001 2001-2007 2007-

HONOUR ROLL ~ REGIONAL OFFICERS West Midlands Yorks/Humber

Marion Grafton C. Lee Roland Mason Peter Draper Annah Fraser Irene Yates Sylvia Williams Karin Rice Sandi Bottone Derek Osborne Sandi Bottone Jennifer Hilton Sandi Bottone Position Vacant Richard Gordon

1974 1975 1976-1985 1985-1986 1987-1988 1994-1997 1989 1990-1993 1998-2000 2001-2003 2004-2006 2006 2004-2006 2007 2008-

Needs Completing Jim Foster Rene Popplewell Paul Mahem Di Kendall Heather Stammers Doreen Jacques Sue Bracewell Graham Newman Sarah Delamore Heather Fleet Philip Clint Laura Bissell Janet Rhodes

1975 1979 1981 1982 ? ? 1985 1990-1998 1998-2001 2001-2002 ? ? ?

Page 34 of 35

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
eastregweb@btinternet.com

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Page 35 of 35

Foot Note/Appendix
The Wheel owes a great debt of gratitude to people who developed and piloted the Wheels first Teaching Diploma:

Wilfred Clarke (18911981)

Born in Somerset, one of five children spent most of his working life as a journalist and then as a tutor with his L.E.A. One the early pioneers of yoga in the UK. Wilfred became interested in yoga whilst serving with an Indian cavalry regiment in W.W.I. An autodidact, he studied Oriental Philosophy with OUES in the 1920s. Regarded himself as a Buddhist. Wilfred Clark gave his first lectures on yoga to the WEA(Birmingham) in 1961. He founded of the Birmingham Yoga Club (1963), Midlands Yoga Association(1964), and the BWY(1965). Later went on to start FROYG. From 1970-1980 he travelled extensively in the UK lecturing on the different aspects of yoga.

Dr Chris Stevens (1943- 2003)

The first General Secretary of the Wheel. A founder member of the Wheel and the catalyst in developing the education side of the Wheel. An excellent administrator and very active in developing the first workable structure for the Wheel. Chris oversaw the Wheels first teacher training syllabus and involved a wide range of experts in that project. An Alexander teacher and a research associate of the Learning Methods Group. Author of: Yoga[ Know the Game] , Alexander Technique (Alternative Health) and Alexander Technique: An Introductory Guide to the Technique and its Benefits

Ken Thompson (b. 1935).

One of the founder members of the Wheel. The first Regional Officer for the South East (when there were only six regions and the South East covered three of the current regions). BWY Chair1985-88. Ken was a Custodian Trustee till 2008. He worked closely with Chris Stevens and ran the first BWY Teacher Training Course in 1971. He was the prime campaigner for getting the first Wheel Administration Centre. A very experienced teacher of yoga and the Alexander Technique and author of the: The \Movement Book and 'Are you a Natural Hatha Yogi?'

Kevin Kingsland (19472011)

He was a dedicated scientist-practitioner. Kevin wrote a number of books exploring the science of yoga and psychology. In 1971 he founded the Centre for Human Communication and the Community Company with his wife Venika. Kevins lifelong work was to create Spectrum Theory - a multi-perspective theory of the construction of experienced reality. It embraced the whole person exploring bodywork, consciousness, natural organisation formation and the psychological basis of business. He wrote several books , possible the most well known in yoga circles was Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika which gave a scientific interpretation of the HYP.

Tony Crisp (b.1937)

Founder of Dreamworks and also LifeStream. A researcher teaching yoga and methods of movement and tension release. In looking for alternative for people with a wide range of muscular/ psychological tension that the general relaxation techniques or meditation did not help and studied the process of dreaming, and its connection with waking discharge of muscular tension. Several books including Yoga and Relaxation, Mind and Movement, Yoga and Childbirth and several others,

Velta Snikere-Wilson (b.1920)

Latvian poet, an inspirational Yoga Teacher and Autogenic Therapist. One of the people who helped develop the first Wheel Diploma Syllabus in 1970/71 and a contributor in the diploma re-write in 1997. Velta was also a Diploma Course Tutor and a driving force in the early days of the Wheel in the London area. Still teaching six classes a week in her 90s

Dr Frank J. Chandra (1923-1993)

Frank Chandra was a leading researcher and expert on the therapeutic effects of hatha yoga upon the body. He was a course advisor on the Wheels first teacher training syllabus. He lectured extensively on the medical/psychological aspects of yoga to many yoga organisations and was a frequent contributor to the Wheels DCT week-ends. A brilliant lateral thinker who pulled in different facets of medical knowledge relating them to aspects of meditation and yoga.

Cynthia Price (b.1927)

A qualified physiotherapist and member of the Society of Chartered Physiotherapist. Cynthia was invited by Velta Wilson to contribute as an adviser on the original diploma syllabus on body mechanics, movement and safety in teaching postures.

Professor Karel Werner (b.1925)

The author of a number of books (Hatha Yoga. Fundamentals of physical exercise yoga; Yoga, Its Beginnings and Developmen, Yoga and Indian Philosophy ), At the time of his contributions to the development of the first BWY teacher Training Syllabus, he was a Lecturer in Indian Philosophy at Durham University. Currently Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies at University of London.

Monty Barnes (1923-2000)

Monty Barnes was, as principal of the Montem Institute A.E., was a key figure in promoting yoga in the ILEA. He was fundamental is keeping ILEA open to the teaching of other yoga organisations Monty, although not a yoga teacher, gave a talk to on what he believed should be the personal objectives of a Yoga Teacher and gave fourteen goals that all teachers should work towards. They are still valid today

Vam Morais
Im not certain what happened to Vam Morais. I can only find his name mentioned in a quote attributed him on a US website:~ If you have an inner sense of joy, you can re-discover the world

Swami Purnanda (1921-2003)

Author of a number of books on Yoga classical text. At the time of his involvement with the first teaching syllabus he was the editor of the prestigious Hinduism . An authority on Vedanta and Classical Yoga texts.