Yoga instructors in a twist over tough qualifications

Chairman and deputy quit British Wheel of Yoga after clashes over vigorous nature of training

DEVOTEES of yoga are widely known for their serene and unflappable auras. But for one of Britain’s largest yoga communities the calm appears to have been disturbed by warring officials. The chairman and vice-chairman of the British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) have stepped down after repeated clashes with their national executive committee (NEC).

Paul Fox, right, made the decision to leave his position as chairman, he claims, after members of the leading body wanted to relax qualifications for teachers. Shelagh Mackenzie, his deputy, also announced her decision to leave. Mr Fox has long warned against practising yoga without an expert instructor as this can lead to a range of injuries, and is a passionate advocate of the highest level of yoga teacher qualification, Level 4.

He said: “This whole fallout came down to just a handful of our teacher-trainers being unable to obtain our Level 4 qualification.” He said that some staff members who were trying to achieve the vigorous qualification became “disgruntled” when they failed to do so. According to Mr Fox the NEC then undermined the qualifications body “by holding a NEC meeting to which Shelagh and I were not invited in order to discuss British Wheel of Yoga qualifications and alleged ‘overregulation’”.

Their decision to resign is likely to spark further disruption as Mr Fox was in the midst of a reelection campaign. He added: “We could not stay any longer and had to act now because of failure of NEC to take steps to protect our wonderful BWY staff.

“With all of them under pressure, some suffering absence due to stress, and being harassed by a number of destructive BWY members and volunteers, they had to be protected.”

The NEC was contacted for comment. On the BWY website a statement from the NEC read: “Further to the recent resignations of the BWY Chair and Vice-chair we confirm that the NEC continues to work on your behalf. The NEC continues to work together with Central Office staff and our committee members to support our organisation and we are looking forward to creating a positive and successful future together with the newly elected members.” It also confirmed that the current leadership election that was taking place would be going ahead despite the withdrawal of Mr Fox.

Mr Fox said he had “already spoken to and congratulated Richard Adamo, the new chairman, and will be working with him to ensure a smooth transition”.