Enlightened Events

I was a volunteer member of the organising committee of the IYTA World Convention which was held in Manly over the weekend. There were 10 of us on the main committee and boy, was there enough work to keep us all busy!

I arrived early on the Thursday to meet with Leigh Blashki, Secretary of AAYT (Australian Association of Yoga Therapists). Leigh was a presenter at the Convention so I thought I would take the opportunity to interview him while he was in Sydney. I had first heard about Leigh through my Yoga teacher, Raju, when I was completing my teacher training in Melbourne in 2002 and I remember the discussions about whether my own teacher training course could be accredited by the Yoga Teachers Association.

Leigh’s involvement in Yoga over the past decades has given him a long view of Yoga and Yoga therapy in Australia. I was interested to hear about his involvement in setting up the original Yoga teachers association and how he has used this experience in setting up the AAYT. I was keen to hear about his vision for Yoga therapy in Australia, as Yoga therapy has long been an interest of mine. His video interview will be available soon on our website.

Then I went to the Convention floor to prepare for the Convention. The Manly Novotel was a fantastic venue and the Convention went off without a hitch thanks to months of pre-planning led by the very capable, Mary Shellens.

The Convention was a wonderful opportunity to learn from distinguished teachers, including Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, son of Swami Gitananda, who was a knowledgeable and entertaining key-note speaker. I also managed to attend Petrea King’s workshop – Point of Stillness, which was one of the highlights for me. I also attend Shankardev’s workshop on Mantra Yoga – what a wealth of experience and wisdom he has! It was hard to choose between the workshops. There were just so many great speakers and topics. The Gala dinner was an enjoyable way to spend the Saturday night and I was delighted to sit next to Trish Brown from Dru Yoga and enjoy the Carnatic vocal concert presented by Dr. Ananda. The closing ceremony on the Sunday had many of us in tears of joy and I was very grateful that I was part of such a wonderful Reunion in Yoga.