The Inner Trust Newsletter telephone 01730 261001 or visit www.inneryoga.org.uk The Inner Yoga Trust, 17 Tilmore Road, Peters eld, Hampshire, GU32 2HJ July 2011

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Inside this Issue • Re-shaping the Inner Yoga Trust • A blessing for all of us • Spinal Column by Simon Barkworth • News from Ireland • Dates and Reviews

Next Issue Next issue in January 2012. Contributions by mid Dec 2011, please, to Sue Peggs, 11 Briavels Grove, Bristol, BS6 5JJ or email to [email protected]. or call me on (0117) 230 0809

The Inner Yoga Trust is a registered charity. no 1068221 Trustees – Colum Hayward, Lorraine Grocott, Natanje Holt, Laura Malcom and Steve Jamison Core Tutors – Jenny Beeken, Pauline Sawyer, Sarah Waterfield, Sue Peggs Council – Colum Hayward, Angela Farmer, Victor Van Kooten 1 A different view of organisation | Jenny Beeken

Can we be an organisation of people rather standing over us should free up the energy used in the than an organisation that exists to make or struggle there has been with that body. enact laws/rules? It is time for change in our We need your support and help with all this, from those organisation -This is what said who feel they are in the close orbit to the core - and in her book “Awakening the Spine” hopefully all of you reading this newsletter. Several of you “Be careful, very careful about organizations. Yoga cannot be have been fund raising and giving back to the Trust - this organized, must not be organized. Organizations kill work. Love is much appreciated and I thank you from my heart for it. is everywhere, in everything, is everything. But if you confine it, We have begun to orientate ourselves more towards fund enclose it in a box or in a definite place, it disappears. When the raising recently as, like many others, we are struggling in preoccupations of money, the desire to succeed or the thought the current economic climate and this is making it hard of compromise comes to our minds, it is the end.” for us to fulfill our charitable aims. In particular it is hard to support bursaries with lower numbers on the courses. With this in mind I have been aware of that in attempting This does not sit easily with me - to ask for/beg for money to keep the Inner Yoga Trust fluid and flexible and more in for the charity. I do have to ask when I teach yoga - but keeping with its Eastern origins. So I have been feeling that then I feel people get their money’s worth in return. the Western business model of director, manager and so However we are a charity and charities fund raise. Pauline on is not appropriate to yoga and we need to move to a and I originally decided to create the charity for teaching more centred model - with 4 core teachers like the centre yoga, despite being advised to be a business, as we wanted of an atom or the heart of an individual and then an orbit it to be for everybody coming into it and for it to go on of teachers committed to following in this “way” but with long after Pauline and I left the planet. freedom to develop their own way. Those teachers have orbits of their students and there is also an orbit of others Organisation can work if it is based on teachers supporting connected to us. With the analogy of the heart, the organs students and in return the teachers are supported by and limbs move around this centre-connected back and yet the students. In the past in India this is how it worked, moving out. teachers would be housed and fed in return for their teaching. At the moment we have a monetary system in Sophy Hoare talked in a recent class about “being contained place in this civilisation so support is provided through the into the centre so that the limbs are free to go out” and exchange of money for goods or services. With this in “articulating at the joints so that they get to know one another view and if you would like to be part of this more centred better”. As I was getting ready to write this editorial, I felt structure one way of you being more involved could be this was appropriate to where we could go as a group of in setting up workshops for core teachers - inviting us “like minded” or like “consciousness” people, especially to teach in different areas - it would keep us all more now we have freed ourselves of a very structured connected. Over time some of you will come on board bureaucratic accreditation. We will develop more of the to develop your workshops for the Inner Yoga Trust - this freedom that yoga brings, as stated in Patanjali’s Sutras would be a real atomic structure – linking in to move out! (Alistair Shearer’s translation) We all four core teachers have regular classes with Sophy 1.13 The practice of yoga is the commitment to become Hoare and Diane Long as I know many of you do - so we established in the state of freedom. can all share our developing understanding of body, breath 1.14 The practice of yoga will be firmly rooted when it is and mind. Within the school though, we also look deeply maintained consistently and with dedication over a long period. and go on developing the philosophical and therapeutic 1.15 Freedom is that triumphant state of consciousness side of yoga teaching so that our understanding of the that is beyond the influence of desire. whole hopefully changes and develops - how can we do that more together to expand ourselves, our teaching and 1.16 And supreme freedom is that complete liberation from our sharing? the world of change that comes of knowing the unbounded Self. The core teachers had an excellent day with Natanje Holt Can we be with these sutras in our “organisation”? (see article) looking at this organisation and how to make What could be an alternative word?? A Practice? it sustainable. This is where I first talked about this atomic structure with the others. Could we offer a day like this to So we have freedom to us all in a yoga conference? Would you come? a) go out b) to know one another better, Sarah Waterfield is in the process of teaching us to chant and coming back to the Sophy analogy of the body, where the Student-teacher prayer from the Taittireeya and Katha are our joints - that which brings us together? Where are Upanishads, whenever and wherever we all meet; (it is our limbs - that which takes us out? now taught to those who are completing the Teachers Awareness programme.) Our civilization has developed a focus on the development of the individual at the expense of the whole world. Yoga “May the Supreme Intelligence protect both the teacher and the is about wholeness - how can we have a more whole disciple; may it cherish us both. encompassing approach? Your ideas would be welcome. Let us work together. May we work with abundant energy. May So if we come back now to this change in structure - I feel our studies be full and fruitful. May we never feel ill will towards things will develop and change in a new structure if we one another.” Translation: Swami Nischalananda Saraswati can all embrace it. Also the letting go of a governing body Can we live this prayer/ this invocation? Jenny 2 The Student-Teacher prayer | Sarah Waterfield p SahNaavvTau ) Sah NaE >auNa¢u ) Sah vIYa| krvavhE )

TaeJaiSv NaavDaITaMaSTau Maa iVaiÜzaVahE )) Om sahanävavatu. Sahanau bhunaktu. Saha véryaà karavävahai. p XaaiNTa" XaaiNTa" XaaiNTa" Tejasvi nävadhétamastu mä vidviñävahai. Om çäntiù çäntiù çäntiù

References: This invocation appears in the Katha and Taittireeya Upanishads. It is The Symbolism of Hindu Gods and traditionally chanted by teacher and student before study. It is sometimes Rituals - called ‘The Student-Teacher Prayer’. A Parthasarathy ISBN 81-87111-54-2 It is chanted to create the ‘right’ atmosphere for spiritual study, to help us to Eight Upaniñads with the tune into the ‘subtle intellect’. commentary of Çaìkaräcärya Om - the symbol of Brahman, the supreme Reality vol one Translated by Swämé Gambhéränanda, Pub. Advaita saha - together Ashrama ISBN 81-7505-016-0 nau - us both (the teacher and the taught) Some translations avatu - (may he) protect May we be protected together (may The protection requested is for the duration of the study or practice time, protection nothing distract our attention) from obstacles or disturbances that stand in the way of us finding knowledge and May we be nourished together (may truth. This line conveys a spirit of surrender. the teachings be our nourishment) bhunaktu - (may he) nourish, cause us to enjoy May we create strength among one véryaà - strength arising from knowledge, vigour another (may we work with full spiritual determination) karavävahai - may we both accomplish, let us both act May our practice and study together be These lines ask for enjoyment and strength. They convey the idea that action and filled with brilliance and light effort is needed on the part of the student and teacher, but that with the right attitude the study (or practice) becomes a pleasure. May there be no enmity between us (may no falseness arise in our tejasvi - brilliant relationship to create hatred) astu - may become Translator unknown, obtained from Pauline adhétam - study Sawyer via Swami Satchidananda Ma or . This line conveys the ‘goal’ or result of the study/practice, that of the unfolding of the supreme Self, the brilliance or light is enlightenment, understanding. May He protect us both. May He take pleasure in us both. May we show ma - do not courage together. vidviñävahai - dispute with each other May spiritual knowledge shine before The teacher and the student pray that there be no ill feeling between them. This us. May we never hate one another. line acknowledges that spiritual knowledge can be difficult to teach and learn, May peace and peace and peace be difficult to understand, and due to the limitations of our ‘humanness’ trying to everywhere. comprehend matters that are so much greater than the small self this can lead to misunderstandings, disagreements, arguments, even anger, bitterness and hatred. Shree Purohit Swami & W B Yeats ‘The Ten Principal Upanishads’ ISBN 0-571-09363-9 çäntiù - peace May the Supreme Intelligence protect çäntiù is said three times, to ask for peace from the three types of disturbances - both the teacher and the disciple; cosmic disturbances (‘natural’ e.g. earthquake, thunder, those of the wider world and may It cherish us both. Let us work beyond? supernatural?) together. May we work with abundant energy. May our studies be full and external disturbances (in the environment around us) fruitful. May we never feel ill-will internal disturbances (in our minds and bodies) towards others. Om Peace Peace Peace. All of which disturb the mental peace that is needed for spiritual practice and study. Swami Nischalananda Saraswati ‘Ashram Chants’ ISBN 0-9544662-0-9 3 The Board Meeting | Sue Peggs

The Newsletter comes out every six months and often it might look like Not rocket science but fairly something just appears as if from nowhere, such as the introduction of a fundamental! We did some mind new structure for the organisation. But in between the Newsletters there mapping of our vision, values, are meetings, conversations, teachings and interactions, in other words a principles and actions needed to put these in place. process that leads to such an announcement. After a Trustee meeting in For the Inner Yoga Trust to be more sustainable January this year, Natanje Holt, one of our Trustees, decided that she would we need to have more of you involved in training, organise and facilitate a planning meeting with Jenny, Pauline, Sarah and teaching and volunteering. Natanje suggested that myself. We christened this meeting ‘The Board Meeting’ because if we were even though we want to have a free and open a conventional organisation that is how it would be seen. Natanje is the organisation of people, in practice people liked to Director of a company and has considerable experience and expertise in know how to find their place and how to progress business and strategic planning. She is also a Yogi, having done the Teachers from one place to another. The next question was Awareness Programme. At the meeting Natanje directed us in discussion of how do we measure that? We decided that the our ideas, and helped us process them into more concrete actions. Jenny has key thing that develops our understanding of Yoga christened one of these ideas “an atomic structure” and discussed that in her and transforms us is our practice. Our practice is article. But another way of looking at it is that members of the Inner Yoga guided by the teaching we receive and give as well Trust form a ‘Sangha’ - a fellowship or community with a common aim. as what life offers us. So we have devised a structure We looked at what was our common aim? Yoga? We came up with a few that can place people by the level of practice, words that describe what it is ‘the Board’ thinks it is trying to do or in study and teaching they have done, in order to be Natanje’s terms, a ‘mission statement’. equipped to do certain things within the Sangha. ‘The Inner Yoga trust teaches you how to practise the philosophy and values of Yoga You become ready to do things through practice, in your lives now to bring greater harmony to yourself and therefore the world.’ study and teaching and volunteering or the giving of service to the Sangha. I must point out here that We decided that as one of our key values is ‘to not tie things down’ • It is worth the Inner Yoga Trust existing this chart is designed for guidance and may be disobeyed! Also it needs a bit more development. • We need to make the Inner Yoga Trust more sustainable Questions, comments and suggestions are really • People need to know where they fit into the organisation welcome. There is also the opportunity for experienced teachers to be apprentices to teach • People need to know how they can contribute and develop their skills the foundation course and the teachers awareness • We (four) need help and support in order to let go and allow the programme. When we had done this Natanje organisation to grow and for other people to be involved laughed and apologised for putting us in boxes, but there you go – we did it!

Level Role What you can do in IYT Minimum number of hours you need to reach the entry level Training Teaching Your Own Volunteering received that you Practice deliver 1 Yoga Student (weekly classes and Volunteer 0 0 0 0 workshops) 2 Student Teacher - starting the Volunteer 100 0 0 0 Foundation Course Organise days for Core teachers and tutors 3 Teacher - Completed the Teach your own weekly classes 500 42 600 10 Programme and teaching own Organise days for Core teachers and tutors classes 4 Experienced Teacher - All of the Teach Yoga Workshops for IYT 600 150 1200 20 above but more of it! Additional Teach/lead Yoga holidays for IYT Training with IYT Mentoring and Support of other teachers 5 Supervised Tutor - All of the Supervised module author 1000 300 1800 50 above plus additional training Specialist Development with IYT Supervised teacher on modules 6 Tutor - ongoing IYT training Unsupervised module development and tutor 2000 1200 5000 200

7 Core Tutor Board of Organisation plus any of above teaching roles

4 The Board Meeting continued Karma Yoga and the Inner Yoga Trust | Louise Kennedy Since the meeting we have all been personally communicating these ideas with people within the Trust. Here are some I travelled to the BWY conference with Sarah practical examples of the way people are involved and please Waterfield and whilst she was telling me about the do not take it personally if I have missed you out! recent development meeting of the IYT, I had something Sarah and myself went to the re-union of our first ever of an epiphany. Teachers Awareness Programme graduates and discussed It was already my understanding that “we” are all the this whole idea with them. We felt it was positively received Inner Yoga Trust, just as when you join a union, each and Rose Thorn is going to organise a workshop in Wales member makes the union what it is. But in the same with Pauline using her own and our resources. Lou Kennedy way, I was also guilty of the attitude that I pay my volunteered her house for ‘the board’ to use for meetings in June. membership and then expect certain things to come my way without any effort. It sometimes takes an effort Natanje has talked to people with whom she did her Teachers of awareness to wake up from that kind of habitual Awareness Programme and as a result Trish Pomeroy is doing thinking. voluntary work for us organising the AGM, using her skills from other work to support the IYT. In a small way, I was trying to do something to help by accompanying Sarah to the BWY conference where I am organising a fundraising scheme and have recruited Frances Pook in as a volunteer in a role that can be done she was teaching; although of course she supported me from her home in Cornwall. Later in the Newsletter is a as much as I did her over the course of the weekend! short article that asks for each and every member to help – and that was very humbling. But perhaps that is the with the scheme. whole point, the realisation that it always works both ways. I always get back as much, or much more, than I Jenny has invited Erica Rasmussen to bring her teaching into put in. the school . Pauline is working with a number of people in Scotland A few weeks later we were able to lend our house to including Kay Hush who voluntarily organises workshops for Pauline, Jenny, Sue and Sarah while we were away on us and Janis Binnie who has been promoting us along with her holiday. It was very easy for us (o.k. a little effort to own work at Natural Health Fairs. make it so clean). The gratitude they all felt was quite overwhelming and made me realise, once again, that Simon Barkworth will be going to Scotland in September to teach an IYT Anatomy and Physiology CPD day – he has spent “service” does not have to be big things. a lot of time practising, studying and teaching in order to be a Whilst talking to Sarah on the train that time I started Supervised Tutor. to think about the spiritual basis of our organisation, Lots of people are already involved in supporting our teachers and how we can bring the idea of service more into our awareness programme either training for other roles or vocabulary, to help wake us all up to what we can do. administering for the experience in itself and these include, The ideas are already there of course, in Karma yoga Bridget Whitehead, Jenny Commerford, Seamus Lynch, Jane and Isvara Pranidhana, but to me at least, living my yoga Stockton, Laura Malcom, Chris Wyeth Maria Webster, Lesley is a constant challenge. Charters, Cryn Horn, Fiona Bruce, Janis Binnie and Kay Hush to name but a few. An organisation which I find inspirational along these lines is Alcoholics Anonymous (with whom we share our All our Trustees are volunteers. motif of an upright triangle within a circle). AA supports This article is by way of widening the group of people who itself from its membership alone, declining any outside know how we are thinking and what others are doing and contributions; and service is one of the three sides of encouraging you to come forward if you want to contribute. the triangle. The other two are unity and recovery - As I said before, questions, comments and suggestions are each of these things needs the others to support it, very welcome, and on behalf of ‘the board’ I hope that you are otherwise the triangle will collapse. happy with the direction we are taking. Perhaps a starting place for the IYT might be to think Farewell to the BWY - Update about what the sides of our triangle represent….

All members will have received a letter letting you know that verification visit from Liz Parker, the BWY’s Verifcation we decided not to accredit future courses with the BWY, and Panel Manager. Jenny Beeken’s course TT10 Scotland why we reached that decision. will be seen in September and we hope that will also go well. At the time of writing we have not had any response from the BWY to our queries about ongoing membership for IYT Students on current foundation courses are responding trained teachers with a BWY accredited certificate. very well to the news and signing up for our course. In some cases the fact that we have taken this decision We will have news on IYT teaching membership with has encouraged them to enrol. We are heartened by Insurance as soon as possible - watch your emails for this and feel optimistic for the future. Please keep information. recommending your students and colleagues to join us, TT09 Ireland led by Pauline Sawyer had a successful attend events and take our training. 5 Spinal Column | Simon Barkworth By way of introduction, Simon Barkworth trained on the Teachers Awareness Programme 2006 - 08. Since then he has continued to study and train with Jenny, Sarah and Pauline as well as Gary Carter and other teachers. He has specialised in Anatomy and Physiology as it has a natural affinity with his abilites as a sculptor. His enthusiasm for the subject is infectious and inspiring. We have asked him to write a regular column for the newsletter. (Spinal Column ha ha! Thanks for that title Pauline.) Simon is able to teach our Anatomy and Physiology CPD days and a date is booked for Edinburgh, Scotland but if you need one in your area please get in touch.

What do we mean by anatomy, our anatomy? The computer graphics and occasionally a piece of sticky tape dictionary points us to the word’s Greek roots anatomia, and elastic on a plastic skeleton, to understand what our ana to separate apart from and temnein (tome) to cut up bodies are comprised of. However, do these really help or cut open. How else would you be able to see inside us understand and realise the structures and functions in a human body, other than using a blade or scalpel? In our own bodies? How can we perceive them from inside, the 18th century, from his book ‘Tables of the skeleton and connect with our inner space, and understand anatomy muscles of the human body’ (Tablulae Sceleti et Musculorum that is useful to our understanding of self? Corporis Humani), Bernard Siegfried Albinus, working How does Yoga direct us to our own anatomy? The Hatha with artist Jan Wandelaar on copper plates, recorded with Yoga Pradipika gives a scientific approach to working with huge accuracy, what they saw looking at cadavers, creating , , mudras and bandas etc. but doesn’t curious back drops for his subject and illustrating the show deep insight into the physical body much more than bigger more obvious parts of the body. the placement of limbs and breath. Through meditations, yogis determined that the human body is far more than a configuration of fleshy organs, bones, and fluids, rather composed energetic centers - Chakras and layers - Koshas, (literally, ‘sheaths,’) which ‘bridge’ from the physical to the spiritual. I’ve begun teaching anatomy and found that looking at the physical body, and learning about it on a chemical and cellular level you soon see body as a hugely complex, integrated whole system. So how can dissecting the body into its constituent parts be helpful to a yoga practice? May be not at all, but it can help us to understand in a language of today, deeply entwined in science. It gives a direction towards these inner spaces so we can start to understand the energetics of the body. There are so many different categories of anatomy; histology, the study of tissues, cytology, study of cells, embryology, neurology, I could go on. But when we listen and feel into our bodies, what appears can be quite simple. Personally, I find it useful to understand how our physical body has developed through our evolution on this earth, inside and outside of the womb, both in watery beginnings. I find the language of the body fascinating and through its movements, all the folding and unfolding, and development, is all expressed through a yoga practice. It is supposed that as we began to stand upright, as our Using cadavers is probably the least useful time senses were brought up and away from the ground, food to look at the body’s functions! now brought to the mouth using our free hands, our brains Later on in the history of anatomy we see a greater use of had to coordinate a multiplicity of messages through our technology and detail, from drawing to photography and sensory channels and this brought an increased need to x-rays. In the 1990’s, ‘The Visible Human Project’ worked relay and store information leading to a bigger, rounder on comprising a series of many thin slices of the body brain. through the transverse plane, into an animation, which can Another big shift was the position and relationship of the be seen at www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_gallery. psoas and piriformis to the spine and legs. Liz Koch, author html. Now using MRI scans we can see inside a live body, of The Psoas Book, calls it the ‘lower tongue of the spine’. It’s albeit a computer representation of one. Plastination, a nice image, a tongue licking the inside of your leg, at some pioneered by Gunther von Hagens shows us plastic copies great length! of the spaces inside of the body, to realistic effect. Unusually as mammals, humans are standing on 2 limbs. I As yoga practitioners we can use these references, books, 6 have a cat and she really wouldn’t be happy to extend her Spinal Column | Simon Barkworth hip so her rear legs were beneath. MEYOOAW!!. Is that The piriformis also stabilises the bottom of the spine, how something awoke in our early brains as we stood up! it hangs onto the sacrum below the sacroiliac joint, and therefore acts to stabilise the spine, reinforcing the sacral ligaments that hold the pelvis together. The piriformis also acts to approximate the two bones of the SI joint, locking them together while the hip is in the supporting phase of gait. So we expect the piriformii to alternate contractions, releasing when the leg is swinging forward into flexion,

We generally find problems in the psoas as it gets pulled away from the back. In general, sitting on chairs, the pelvis gets stuck in a retracted position. As the body will always find the most efficient way to move, the fascia between psoas and iliacus knit up tight, gluing them together, adapting to the basic need of that pelvis. As the iliacus is

allowing the ilium to posteriorly tilt on the sacrum at the SI joint, and then contracting strongly at heel strike, holding the joint in solid apposition while the loaded femur swings back into extension. The piriformis’s minor adjustments under the spine is sometimes described like those a hand makes under an upright broom. With both the piriformis and sacroiliac joints working freely together the spine is free to lift up. Though if the pelvis gets stuck in habitual posture and either the psoas or piriformis don’t have balance between them, the sacrum cannot give us the lift upright, which we spent thousands of years achieving in evolution! So we need a healthy balance at the bottom of the spine between the psoas and piriformis. This could be simply understood as a need to feel the front and back of the pelvis. Going further, feeling the connection from the inner thigh/groin to the lumbar spine, through the psoas. Feeling the outer hip/femur through the back of the pelvis to the base of the spine, front of the sacrum. Can we feel the two sides of the pelvis in walking and the lift up of the spine from either side of the pelvis through the sacrum? attached to the iliac fossa of the hipbone, it pulls the psoas away from the back. We can try, with this sense, moving towards 1 (warrior I) as an extension of a walking stride, into and This can then cause problems in the Sacroiliac joint (SIJ). out of the posture, the arms lifting up as an expression of The SIJ receives the force coming up the feet. You want a the lift of the spine. Understanding anatomy, even if it is bit of motion between sacrum and ilium on both sides, if perceived as fracturing or separating out individual parts, you have none, the psoas and iliacus get stuck together and our aim is to get underneath, to be able to come back to the pelvis can only side bend. If there is motion in rotation the whole and the wholeness, through yoga. So how does and anterior, posterior tilt in the two separate sides of it then feel in Warrior 1, through the whole body? the pelvis, the sacrum is then free to take any force and delivers it well, instead of a short sharp shock to the spine. 7 People

The Day Civil Partnership Came to Obituary for Maggie Church Ireland Jenny Beeken Rosemarie Bryson,TT09 Ireland Maggie first came to my classes over 30 years ago and readily Little did I know absorbed the discipline and practice of yoga, realising the when I started connection it gave her to her spiritual life in the church. She my teacher- felt so strongly the effects of it that she wanted to pass it onto training course others so soon trained to teach. he was so strong and clear and in late 2008 that disciplined in her life and her teaching. in approximately We became good friends as she travelled on courses to Greece two years and Turkey with me and then to India with Sue Peggs - where I time I would understand she was also a good friend to Sue in the lovely photo be “married”! below. One thing I remember so clearly her saying is that she felt Bearing in mind her real and most important reason to be here on Earth is to be I am 54 years a mother. I know that Emma and Joanna and her grand children of age and have felt and appreciated that enormous commitment she had to never been them, I know she spoke for mothers everywhere. “married” before, Sitting with her in the last few months has made me really Rosemarie And Muriel as it wasn’t an option for me in appreciate friendship, in the support and care I always felt my little Emerald Isle of Ireland and having been told from her even when she was by all my advisors that this day would never come in suffering so much herself. In Let there be singing my lifetime. But as the time went by and the stepping- that time I read to her from Should a lark be singing the Upanishads, starting at the stones went into place, the Civil Partnership Bill was when I turn aside commenced on 22nd December 2010. beginning thinking we might get to the end but didn’t, she was from where I’ve walked in wonder, My partner Muriel and myself registered our intent released from a very difficult known of joy, to civilly partner at the first opportunity, which was physical body thankfully. 5th January 2011. That was the beginning of the Wedding preparations…which were hectic. Oh what Her funeral was in the ancient this would be appropriate and lovely Boxgrove Priory a saviour was my ; and as I practised just since I was given before, a little piece of inspiration came to me and near Chichester. It was a that was to BE MYSELF. Immediately I could feel a most beautiful funeral, a real a soaring heart that reaches huge sense of relief and after that the day just flowed. honouring of her and her life. for the sky. It was the most “perfect” day of my life. She had been a solo soprano there and had the 23rd psalm The ceremony was so much a reflection of us. We arranged for her by her master Let there be singing each had our own vows and a beautiful translation of music teacher and it was sung where my ashes lie the Sanskrit ‘Namaste’ as a salutation. by the choir in tribute to her. and let a mild wind play I honour the place in you where the entire universe resides, Her wicker coffin piled high with wild flowers was cleansed to scatter random I honour the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. with water and incense and then as the leaves are strewn the priest processed her out of I honour the place within you if you are in that place in you that turn from early season’s this life so beautifully it made me And I am in that place in me, then we are one. want to go to church again. green to brown. I think what struck me most, is the ease with which The poem (inset) was included Griselda Scott we both moved through that wonderful day and the and is so appropriate for her, impact that had on everyone around us. We were she lived so in tune with nature and her beautiful garden. proclaiming our love for one another and everyone was so happy to share in that love. Maggie (left) with Sue in Goa

Then came the honeymoon. A time for just each other. Muriel had brought her Kindle (electronic library!) with her only to discover she could not download any books so I had her undivided attention for the whole three weeks! In Alaska we got to live that “animal being. “ The whole state was virtually a wilderness, which we had the privilege to experience. I was virtually off the plane from Alaska and into another yoga weekend – the healing effects of yoga….and on life goes….

8 Notices The Abundance Club | Sue Peggs Eat, Pray, Love – find out more This idea came originally from our trustee, Lorraine Grocott, who at this year’s AGM! | Trish Pomeroy runs a similar scheme for her local village hall. It is a small lottery that can be run by a charity. I am in the process of setting one up for the This year’s AGM is an event not to be missed and we benefit of the Inner Yoga Trust. The idea is that 200 people join the club would like to invite you all to attend. We have an exciting and each pay £5 per month by standing order to the Abundance Club. afternoon lined up for you, starting with the AGM, which Every month there is a draw and there is a first prize of 25%, a second is a great opportunity for you all to hear how the Trust is prize of 15% and a third prize of 10% of the subscriptions. (If the club is doing and have your say in shaping our future. fully subscribed the prizes are £250/£150/£100) Once we have held the official AGM we will move on to The remaining 50% goes to the Inner Yoga Trust, 25% to the ring fenced announce our first ever winner of the ‘Abundance Club’ bursary fund and 25% to general funds. If a prize winner does not wish to accept the prize the prize will be placed in the bursary fund so make sure you’ve signed up to be in for a chance of or individual winners can make a personal choice to give the prize winning as well as helping raise some much needed funds to another charity. IYT has been granted a licence to run the club for the Trust. by the East Hants District Council who will monitor our activities so Some of you have participated in our ‘Auction of everything will be above board. Promises’ in the past, and we are pleased to be running I want to be clear that I am not asking you our members, to join the auction again this year. If you have any items you yourselves, unless you do so freely, because you want to. What I am would like to include in the bid, please contact me with going to ask is that you recruit a member of your family, a friend or details of your bid item and if possible please also suggest neighbour or one of your yoga students. If each IYT member can do a minimum bid price. that the club will be fully subscribed. It is a way of widening the basis of our funding. And finally, you’ve read the book, seen the film but have you ever experienced Eat, Pray, Love yoga style? I am not naturally inclined to this type of thing, that is selling raffle Come and attend the AGM to find out more (includes tickets or lottery memberships, but before I started on the project I tested the water with a friend of mine – she does the national lottery chocolate!) and never wins, she also comes to Yoga classes. She said she would The AGM will take place on Saturday 26 November 2011 switch from the national lottery to the IYT Abundance Club because it during the afternoon at Elsted Village Hall, look out for would offer her a better chance of winning (albeit a smaller amount!). your invitation nearer the date. It will follow on from a I am planning to launch this club in September 2011, hoping to take in morning of Yoga with Diane Long so you could make a the first batch of payments on 1 November with the first prize draw at dayor even a weekend of of it, as Diane will also teach on the AGM in late November. Sunday morning. All members will be sent some literature for recruiting members to the Trish Pomeroy – Volunteer AGM Organiser Abundance Club. It is hopefully a simple way in which you can help us. You can but ask. A regular income to the bursary fund will make all To place items in the Auction of Promises please contact the difference to real people who need financial support to undertake Trish Pomeroy email: [email protected] their Teachers Awareness Programme, and a small but steady monthly Phone : 01252 404672 / 07881 915534 income for the charity will really help us. Thanks in advance for any help you can give. News and Reviews

Angela Farmer and Victor Van Kooten, March 2011 | Alison Cook

I was at Victor and Angela’s joint weekend this year. This was the third time I have attended their workshops over the past seven or eight years that I have been training and teaching. Each time has been different, and each time I have left having discovered a new awareness deep inside myself. The Angela and depth of their teaching touches me. It seems to me that they both teach from a profoundly quiet and Victor will be deep place which they describe in a poetic way, filling my mind with rich visual imagery. Images are often attached to a narrative that leads me to find and follow the movement in my body, connecting with us again in mind to body through a meandering story of feeling, exploring the space I am connecting to, or re- Hampshire connecting to, as if for the first time. 29/30/31 March I also enjoy seeing and feeling how much they love and complement each other and are light hearted in their connection, and to what they feel ‘in the caverns of the body’. These words I have remembered 1 April from the very first weekend I attended. I love to think of my body and mind as a series of endless caves and caverns waiting to be explored. Victor and Angela certainly guide me well through unfamiliar 2012 territory and I always leave feeling that I know myself a little better. 9 News and Reviews Planting the souls of my feet in Wales | Rose Thorn In September 2010 I moved to mid Wales; I fell in love I invited Yoga teachers in the area to meet for a day, and left my busy Bristol life to join my cariad/lover in her “Kindle fire; learn and teach. Feed fire; learn and teach” beautiful home, a B&B called ‘Over the Rainbow’ (OTR) near which was a little daunting, being new to teaching. My Cardigan. Later that month I attended the last weekend of supportive IYT colleagues also living in Wales, Lisa, Helen my IYT Teachers Awareness Training. and Susie attended. I led the morning , we had lunch and talked about our trainings and then in the afternoon By late October the leaves had fallen, the winter nights drew shared various concerns or insights that we had from our in and I began to absorb the massive changes. I got help teaching practice. It was good to meet other teachers. to make Yoga posters that were bi-lingual. I joined a Welsh class and am still learning... slowly. Then the car’s head gasket On the April Fool’s weekend we had our course reunion blew and so did mine! It gobbled up money that I wasn’t here. Sadly two members couldn’t make it, but six of us earning and I started to feel gloomy. To own a car again has did. On the Saturday Lorna joined us with baby Ida May, been the biggest shock; in the grey city I had cycled to my and Sarah and Sue came to rest, eat and chat with us. We yoga classes, now here in the green, it was a 15 mile drive to kept a similar time structure as we had on the course and teach my yoga classes. dished out slots according to who wanted to facilitate what. In the mornings we breathed in the Tree of Light on The winter was hard and cold. My asana practice became the mossy lawn with our bare feet. On the Saturday the the most regulating and grounding part of my daily routine. sun came out and we walked along the coast and relaxed Every morning practising asana on the floor, mostly lying down. I chanted ‘The Perfect Prayer’ because I was on Tresaith beach. struggling to feel ‘the perfect’ in my life despite being very On the Sunday Sarah and Sue talked about the IYT and happy with my partner and living in a beautiful place. I invited us, the members to become involved. One of the went for long walks to absorb the sun and wonder in the topics a few of us felt passionate about was to encourage landscape about what direction I might take in this new land. IYT CPD events here in Wales. I decided to be proactive In February I decided that one way of maintaining a balance and will be organising two CPD maybe weekend events between driving out to work was to create work here here at Over the Rainbow for 2012; one in Spring (maybe at Over the Rainbow! I publicised a one-day ‘Spring into March) and the other in Autumn (maybe late October). Your-Self’ yoga re-treat which attracted 11 women, mostly I will be the organiser and I have invited Pauline to mothers. Some were from my evening classes and others come and teach here so please do contact me if you are were unable to attend a regular class but enjoyed time-out interested in coming along - at: rosethorn.email@gmail. to practice, be cooked for (Marie’s wonderful vege cuisine) com or tel: 01239 – 811 593 and meet others in the area. I then created a seasonal series, the summer one has booked out, autumn and winter still to do.

Summer Solstice 2011 | Deborah Clarke Although it wasn’t quite the barmy* summer evening many of us had been hoping for, sharing the Summer Solstice with a group of IYT practitioners and teachers at Sue and Sarah’s lovely home in central Bristol proved to be truly magical. Not only had they provided delicious food, we got a glowing fire at the top of their garden as well. After supper and a brief tour of the vegetable beds, we huddled around the fire and shared poems, readings or experiences which were of significance for this, the longest of days. Whilst some of us delighted in the ending of a frenetic early summer energy, others mourned the loss of the long daylight hours. Sue and Sarah let the evening unfold, no pressure, just a gentle holding of the space, which enabled each person to take the time they needed. I have a memory of lush surroundings, resting on a gentle, sloping lawn and enjoying the smell of damp grass and firewood burning, listening to others with the backdrop of muted city sounds. It was a gentle, reflective space, with love and laughter in equal measure and a perfect space to enjoy the simple pleasure of being and sharing, with friends and peers. And then finally, being lead in a song (?) which we performed around the dying embers of the fire until it really did feel like time to go, and to rejoice in whatever the rest of the summer had in store. Deborah Clarke * Deborah meant balmy however a subsequent conversation with our next door but one neighbour about the song and dance we did around the fire made me leave in the unintentional pun! (Sue) Our meeting raised £75 for the Inner Yoga Trust. Sadly a similar meeting planned for Edinburgh was washed out by torrential rain.

10 News and Reviews

Yoga Teacher Training Irish Style!! As Leonard Cohen sings “There is a crack in everything that is how the light gets in”. Can we put it any better? This really sums up the essence of our incredible journey from foundation course to almost having our teacher training course completed. It all started on the tiny island of Inis Rath in County Fermanagh. It was pouring rain and darkness was enveloping the island on the cold wet and blustery December weekend. Floods had almost made the island inaccessible and yet somehow we all make our way through the dark to begin our journey to the light. Who will The Irish Teachers Awareness Programme Group minus Mary McDermott ever forget the shock of that first early wot no leggings? morning, which started with walking in our bare feet in around 6 inches Back Row L - R, Maura O’Keefe, Fionnula Conway, Maire Healy, Seamus Lynch, Terri of water! Or the terror of our first Brosnan-Foster, Julie Dowd, Marie Moran, Roisin Smyth teaching practice and Bhagavad Gita Front Row L - R, Anne Finn, Aislinn O’Reilly, Rosemarie Bryson, Louise Donelly presentation at the first summer school. I write this having only today finished (particularly Tricky Asana), meditation and pranayama. Pauline’s obvious love for our second year summer school, which the sacred texts and application of them to daily living and our yoga practice has was filled with challenges, lightness, been inspirational to us. Pauline has been woven into the tapestry of our group. joy and laughter. There were tears of We do of course feel we have turned her 40 shades of green! Pauline, our sadness but many more of joy. The mentor, our guide, our inspiration. spirit moved us to literally laugh our Sarah’s smiling face brought lightness and joy to our course. Her love and asanas off! As our journey together passion for Sanskrit shone through as she taught the Gayatri Mantra and the draws to a close, there are such mixed Perfect Prayer so beautifully. Her teaching and advice on how to set up a class emotions of joy and sadness. What and teach a class was simply brilliant. Sarah showed us that fun can be at the will we miss? What do we recall? The heart of our yoga practice and teaching. delicious food served up to us each day, hardship, emotional rollercoasters, We do of course feel that we Irish have put our own stamp on Pauline and the long lasting friendships that Sarah! While we worked hard to become like melted butter on toast, Pauline have formed, tears of sadness and has come to appreciate our sense of humour, a tongue twister of an Upanishad, of joy, laughter, compassion, support, and of course our unique sense of time! Rumour has it that Sarah was spotted presenting our Gita and Upanishad, sipping a Guinness at Dublin airport! connecting with Pauline and Sarah’s We leave you with a quote from the wonderful Velveteen Rabbit, when the teachings, and of course our esteemed rabbit asks the skin horse what is real, and does becoming real happen all at administrator Seamus. once. We feel truly blessed to have had ” You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who Pauline as our guide along this treasured break easily or have sharp edges or have to be carefully kept….Once you are real you journey, a journey that has involved can’t be ugly - except to people who don’t understand. Once you are real you can’t the Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads, become unreal again”. Patanjali, personal challenges, asanas Thank you Inner Yoga for our journey to becoming real. Go raibh maith agaibh. (Directly translated that a (go raibh) thousand good things (maith) would be on you (agaibh). Correct equivalent phrase in English would be ‘thanks a million.’)

11 Information for Teachers Feedback

‘Do your duty; learn and teach. Speak truth; learn and teach. Meditate; learn A few people have taken the trouble to give and teach. Control sense; learn and teach. Control mind; learn and teach. us feedback about our recent letter letting Kindle fire; learn and teach. Feed fire; learn and teach. Be hospitable; learn members know that we will no longer work and teach. Be humane; learn and teach. Serve the family; learn and teach. under the BWY Accreditation Scheme. Procreate; learn and teach. Educate your children; learn and teach.’ Taittireeya Upanishad from the translation by Shree Basingstoke Foundation Course Student, Purohit Swami and WB Yeats planning to start the Teachers Awareness Continuing Professional Development Programme this November said “When Jenny announced that the IYT had made post BWY the decision to stand apart form BW and gave Many Inner Yoga Trust teachers hold a BWY Accredited Teachers the reasons, I knew that I had found the right Diploma. We will not be telling you what to do regarding your teaching for me. membership of the BWY - that will be a matter of personal choice. If It takes an awful lot of courage to recognise that you stay with the BWY you will have to abide by their requirements ones own teaching standard does not need an for doing and recording your CPD. Broadly we feel that as before it is outer authority to regulate or impose its own not incompatible for you to be a member of the BWY and the Inner standards upon it.” Yoga Trust and to meet the CPD requirements of both organisations. The BWY has a points system and any of our day long events would Deni Jones - member wrote be suitable for counting as 5 points. We would still ask that you obtain 10 of your 15 points with IYT and that some of those would be from I am writing to let you know I received the IYT attending an event with one of the IYT Tutors (Jenny, Pauline, Sarah, Sue, letter re; BWY and association therein- and I fully Bridget, Simon). support your decision ! If you decide not to retain your BWY membership then the CPD I have felt supportive since this consultation requirement for the Inner Yoga Trust is that you do a minimum period began and the first letter to the membership appeared. I wholeheartedly equivalent of one weekend a year (10 hours of received teaching) or appreciate your decision to stay true to the attend a week with one of the above tutors every other year. Every philosophy, teachings and commitment of the three years you should do an Anatomy and Physiology refresher. That Inner Yoga Trust ! can be part of your overall CPD for that period of time. Thank you for all of your hard work on our behalf ! We will try to make sure that something is available in your area to help Very sincerely and with deep gratitude, you to do this. You might consider biting the bullet like Rose Thorn is (article page12 ) and organise something in conjunction with your yoga Deni Jones colleagues. The option of a week residential is designed to be helpful for those in more remote locations or who cannot make a particular weekend when it appears in their area. Lesley Charters said Thank you for this letter and well done for If you are struggling to do your CPD, TALK TO US - Pauline in making the decision to part company with the particular is available to guide you on this matter. BWY – what a relief! As a quick recap - one way of refreshing your A&P is to attend a Lesley x Foundation Course weekend of your choice. We continuously review and refresh the course so it will be different to the first time you did it, plus you will have so much more understanding of the teaching in your Shirly Ottewell - member wrote body that you will deepen your understanding of whatever aspect you Hi Pauline, study. Or if you can put together a viable group Simon Barkworth can come to you. Thank-you and all others for putting in time and effort on negotiations with the BWY and I respect At the bottom of page 15 is some information about classes in Bristol, you decision to leave their organisation. Edinburgh and Hampshire which you can count towards your IYT CPD. Love & light. Logging your CPD with IYT Shirley. If you attend our events for your CPD our database will automatically keep a record of your CPD. However the local classes are not automatically logged on the database as booking is with the individual We welcome any feedback and tutor. Please make sure you sign the CPD sheet when you attend the suggestions class and keep a record for yourself. If you do any CPD outside the IYT (in line with our minimum requirements above) you should drop us a line preferably by email to [email protected] to let her know what you did. 12 Courses Running Now and Planned Coming up this year If you have any students or know anyone who would be interested in this training please would you pass on the details. Mira Mehta For the two-year programmes we do accept suitable candidates Mira will be teaching for the Inner Yoga Trust on the weekend of who have done a foundation course other than our own. 3/4 September in Hampshire. The workshop topic is Yoga and Ayurveda. Mira has a deep understanding of the topic and it will Planned Foundation Courses be really interesting to look at theYoga alongside the Ayurvedic Edinburgh – 3/4 September 2011 model of health and the body. Mira’s asana teaching is firmly and Teacher: Pauline Sawyer strongly rooted in the Iyengar tradition but as Sarah wrote in the last newsletter if we are not attached to form in Yoga asana we Wales – 8/9 October 2011 will be able to work with Mira in Yoga. Teacher: Bridget Whitehead Simon Barkworth Bristol – 19/20 November 2011 Anatomy and Physiology day suitable for IYT A&P CPD refresher Teacher: Sarah Waterfield in Edinburgh, Saturday 24 September 2011 Glasgow – New Course Autumn 2011 Sue Peggs Teacher: Pauline Sawyer - Admin Janis Binnie Creating a Sustaining Practice, IYT CPD in Kent, Saturday 24 September 2011. A day to look at your own practice for Manchester – Course continues Autumn yourself and for your teaching. Is it giving you the support 2011 and development that you want and need? Asana, pranayama, Teacher: Pauline Sawyer - Admin Jane Stockton philosophy and fun. Winchester – 14/15 January 2012 Jenny Beeken and Pauline Sawyer - Teacher: Jenny Beeken - Admin, Chris Wyeth New Grange, Ireland and India Jenny and Pauline are offering a variety of retreats and workshops over the coming year. These include a Winter Foundation Courses Running Solstice Retreat at New Grange in Ireland in Dec 2011 and a South Hants - Emsworth fantastic Yoga tour in India in March 2012. See the listings on the back page for more information about these. Running - open to new students Teacher: Various Teachers with Lesley Charters Sophy Hoare North Hants - Basingstoke Sophy will continue to help us refine our practice in Hampshire Running - open to new students and in Bristol. Sophy’s Hampshire dates tend to be arranged at Teacher: Jenny Beeken - Admin, Maria Webster short notice so keep an eye on your email if you are interested.

Diane Long New Teacher Awareness Courses Diane will be with us for two half day workshops on 26/27 Nov, Combine this with the AGM for a really good Autumn weekend. TT11 South 2011/13 Teachers: Jenny Beeken with Lesley Charters Sarah Waterfield Administrator: Cryn Horn Sarah is offering a series of classes in Bristol suitable for teachers Current Teacher Awareness Courses or those with a lot of practice and awareness. Contact: Sarah@ inneryoga.org.uk for information about the dates. These courses are no longer open for new participants but it may be helpful for you to know what is going on. Pauline Sawyer Ireland 2009–11 Pauline is offering a series of classes in Edinburgh suitable for Teacher: Pauline Sawyer teachers or those with a lot of practice and awareness. These Scotland 2010 -12 are on the Friday evening before the Foundation Course Teacher: Jenny Beeken weekends. You might like to come to a class and some or all Administrator: Laura Malcolm of the Foundation course weekend. Contact: Kay Hush email: [email protected] for information about the dates TT11 South West 2011/12 and costs. Teachers: Sarah Waterfield and Sue Peggs, Administrator: Jenny Commerford Jenny Beeken TT11 North West 2011/12 Jenny is offering a series of workshops in Hampshire suitable for Teachers: Pauline Sawyer with Bridget Whitehead teachers or those with a lot of practice and awareness. Contact: Administrator: Jane Stockton [email protected] for information about the dates, or see Jenny’s page on the website www.inneryoga.org.uk/teachers/jennybeeken.html 13 Inner Yoga Trust Dates and Events for 2011/12 Keep an eye on the website and your email for further events as they are added

5-7 August 2011 Jenny Beeken and Pauline Sawyer - Retreat Weekend on the Holy Isle Contact - Debra Adams phone 01770 700 794 13 August 2011 Pauline Sawyer - The Yoga of Action, Blair Logie, Scotland 21 -28 August 2011 Jenny Beeken - Holiday France, Contact Chris Wyeth 3 - 4 September 2011 Mira Mehta - Yoga and Ayurveda Workshop, Rogate near Petersfield, Hants 21/22 September 2011 Sophy Hoare - Two morning workshops, Elsted near Petersfield, Hants 24 September 2011 Sue Peggs - Creating a Sustaining Practice, Kent 24 September 2011 Simon Barkworth - Anatomy and Physiology refresher, Garleton Lodge, Edinburgh 15 October 2011 Bridget Whitehead - Yoga Asana, Nidra and Mudras, Blair Logie Scotland 22 October 2011 Day on Ahimsa in the postures, breathing and meditation with Pauline and Jenny at The White Eagle Lodge, New Lands, Rake, Hampshire GU33 7HY Contact: [email protected], tel; 01730 893300 23 October 2011 Supervised teaching weekend as part of the Course at Twyford, Winchester 5/6 November 2011 Supervised teaching weekend as part of the Yoga as Therapy Course, Bristol 26/27 November 2011 Diane Long two morning workshops at Elsted near Petersfield, Hants 26 November 2011 Inner Yoga Trust Annual General Meeting, Elsted near Petersfield, Hants 18 - 22 December 2011 Solstice Retreat at Newgrange Ireland with Jenny Beeken and Pauline Sawyer 25 - 26 February 2012 Erica Rasmussen - The Anatomy of Breathing, Elsted near Petersfield, Hants 1 - 15 March 2012 Trip to India with Jenny or Pauline (with optional extension to 20 March) 29 March - 1 April 2012 Angela Farmer and Victor Van Kooten - Hampshire 30 March - 1 April 2012 Pauline Sawyer at Over the Rainbow, Pembrokeshire 21- 22 April 2012 Alistair Shearer - The Upanishads, Kensington, London (non residential) 21- 28 Sept 2012 Teachers Week at Persie House Scotland 26 - 28 October 2012 Pauline Sawyer at Over the Rainbow, Pembrokeshire

Foundation Courses - All courses are open for new participants TBA Manchester, The Spine, Pauline Sawyer 3/4 September 2011 Edinburgh, Weekend 1, The Wholeness of Yoga, Pauline Sawyer 8/9 October 2011 Roch, Pembroke, Weekend 1, The Wholeness of Yoga,, Bridget Whitehead 19/20 November 2011 Bristol - Weekend 1, The Wholeness of Yoga, Sarah Waterfield

Notices India 2012 Teachers Listings on the Pauline and Jenny have lined up a great yoga tour in India 1-15 March website 2012. Have you looked at them? It is possible The tour starts in South India at a hill station in Kerala. After this opportunity to relax and do some Yoga together we will travel north to have your photograph next to your where we will visit Jaipur, the Amber Fort, Agra, the Taj Mahal and name on our searchable listings page. Delhi. There is then an opportunity to extend your stay with a visit to the Shimla Hill Station. After the initial few days in Kerala we will It is part of your teachers membership teach yoga and meditation most days during the course of the tour. bundle so no extra cost. Send a photo You should have had an email or letter about the tour but if not or that you like to if you are definitely interested please contact the office as soon as possible as we have flights reserved until 24 August after which the [email protected] prices quoted in the brochure are liable to change (ie go up) 14