THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION AND SUPPORT FOR BRITISH WHEEL OF YOGA TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN BEDFORDSHIRE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, ESSEX, HERTFORDSHIRE, NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK

The British Wheel of Yoga

Registered Charity No. 264993

EASTERN REGION

Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex,

Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk

GOVERNING BODY FOR YOGA IN GREAT BRITAIN

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                  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  EASTERN REGION

 

 

To celebrate the Wheel’s fortieth anniversary the regional committee have put together a short history of Eastern Region.
The British Wheel of Yoga was founded in 1965 by Wilfred Clarke. Like many new spontaneous organisations, the demand and growth kept out-stripping support. It was soon recognised that a national frame-work was needed and the first national structure had six regions ~ see the extract from one of the early Wheel magazines.
You will notice from the above we had ‘provincial’ members and those of you that are not myopic might notice that by 1973 we had changed the name from The Wheel of British Yoga to the Western Yoga Federation. It was changed to The British Wheel of Yoga in 1974. The old and new logos are shown below:
You will also see that Wilfred spoke about ‘the Federation’ and Acacia House in Acton London, was referred to, for a while, as the Wheel’s [Federation] Headquarters. The Wheel had a purpose built unit installed behind Acacia House, which was used for seminars and was still in existence in the early ‘90s.
For details of Eastern Region's current officers please go to Regional Structure page on this website.
Regional Officers
Initially in the development of the Wheel, Eastern Region was part of BWY's South East Region, which included the regions that are now London and South East. Eastern Region itself came into being in 1975, when the British Wheel of Yoga expanded to eleven regions.
Eastern Region came into being as separate  B.W.Y. region in 1975, when the British Wheel of Yoga expanded to eleven regions.
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   1975-1978 1978-1980 1980-1982 1982 1982-1993 1994 1994-1996 1997-1999 1999-2000 2000-2002 2002-2004 2004-2007 2007-
The first Regional officer for Eastern Region was Ken Thompson and initially we only had four counties in Eastern Region with Cambridge coming into region in 1975 bringing us up to five counties. Essex was divided into two sections in 1987from a ine East of Brentwood.
Eastern Region is ‘managed’ by Regional Officer who heads up the Regional Committee and sits on the BWY Executive committee which organises the national organisation. The Regional Officer is our line manager and the link between the region and the national organisation. The Regional Committee consists of the Regional Officer, the County Representatives, Regional Treasurer, Regional Editor, Training Officer and Website Admin. The Committee meets 3-4 times a year.
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 and. 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 it’s been brilliant.  What I did not foresee was that part of my duties as RO at Congress 2005 was to dress up as a circus performer and appear on stage!  I still don't quite know how that happened ........
Regional Treasurer
The Regional Treasurer oversees the regional finances in accordance with the BWY guidelines and the Charities Commissioner regulations
Regional Treasurer ~ Roll of Honour Maude Defty Betty Belsham Ian Burgess Hugh Frost David Primett 1976-1989 1990-1991 1991-1993   1993-2004 2004-
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 Regions 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."
Regional Magazine
The first Eastern Region magazine that we are aware of was Satsang, which started the Autumn of 1978 with Brian Down as the editor and ran to twelve pages. It was run off on an old Gestetner machine, with the ‘copy’ typed out on a skin and run off by hand [and the sweat of the brow]
	The cover of the very first edition of the Eastern Region magazine that we produced called 'Satsang'	The re-birth of the regional magazine. The new title was Yoga-East ~ although  from the front cover design most regional members thought it was 'Yeast' and the name stuck		The front cover of the current   magazine, now printed     professionally and      the new title was           'Yogaeast'
In 1979 Brian handed over the reins to Jenny Surey when he became Regional Officer. Satsang ran for twelve issues and then ceased publication.
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 wasn’t 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 re-started magazine was edited by John Cain and Bernard Booty and run off on a second [or third]-hand Gestetner machine. Initially the new magazine wasn’t as big as the version started by Brian and Jenny. It was just three double sided sheets of A.4 simply stapled together. In 1984 we got back to the folded version and went up to sixteen pages. 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 ~ through to the current editor Caroline Bradley.
Regional Editor ~ Roll of Honour Brian Down Jenny Surey 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 2009-
Molly Allen writes: “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 that convinced me I could do the job of regional editor.
The County Representatives
The counties  that make up Eastern Region are Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, East & West Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Each county has it’s own representative who is part of the decision-making group that manages the region’s affairs
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.
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 Joey Robinson Joan Roche Ann Davenport Margaret Townroe Hugh Frost Sally Studd Carole Tovell Dianna Ship 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 Prud’homme 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
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 I’ve 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 don’t actually have to do very much”. Well, 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 I’ll continue with it as long as I’m 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 Wheel’s Congress. The support of the member, especially in St Albans, meant I could benefit form the insights of many different and wonderful teachers.
Teacher Training Courses
Before 1970, teacher training was run on what would be best described as “an apprenticeship scheme”. A list of people authorised to run teacher training courses was kept in the ‘grey book’ by BWY. In 1970 the BWY teacher training course was formalised. This was a course designed by Chris Stevens, supported by Velta Wilson, Ken Thompson, Vam Morais, Tony Crisp, Wilfred Clark, Swami Purnanda, Karl Werner, Frank Chandra, Pandit Vishnu Narayan, Monty Barnes, etc.
The first courses that were run in Eastern Region were in 1972 and run by Ken Thompson in Essex at ‘the Hermitage’  [ Brentwood Evening Institute ] in 1971, other courses soon followed with Hildegard Andreyev in Beds and by Hilton Francis in Norfolk.
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.
Many other yoga organizations have based their teaching systems on the Wheel’s formula.   We think, but can’t be 100% certain, that over 100 teacher training courses have been run in Eastern Region.
	D.C.T.    ~   Roll of Honour Name App. Name 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 xxxx 1990 2001 1992 xxxx   Andrea Kwiatkowski Angela McDonald Miki Marks Bridget Minor Jeanette Morton-Holmes Jayantibal Patel  Gillian Pendreich  Steven Philips Elaine Powell Charlotte Prud’homme Ian Rawlinson Cheryl Ray Bob Roberts Diana Silk Helen Smith Eileen Smith-Williams Peter Taylor-Woods Angela Thompson    2006 1982 1999 1987 1991 1978 1990 1988 1984 1995 1975 1980 1976 1976 2006 1971 1983 1980 Ken Thompson Margaret Townroe Ann Weston Tug Wilson Lian Wimmer Margaret Woodley Rosie Wright   1970 1985 1990 1984 1978 2007 2008
	Note: From September 1971to 1984 Diploma Course Tutors people running courses were known as Teacher Educational Tutor[TETs]. Pre-1971 a number of people were listed by the Wheel as having sufficient knowledge to trained teachers under an ‘apprenticeship’ scheme.
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. We have been blessed with DCTs that have helped the region to grow.
Regional Training Officer
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!"
The Region's Growth and the Future
The membership of the region is varied with teachers accounting for just under half the membership. About 12.3% of the membership are trainee teachers. Since its inception, the region has  shown good growth which has been largely due to the efforts of the County Representatives and other officers in the region. Below is the growth trends of the BWY regions up to Oct 2009
Below is the membership totals of the BWY regions in 2009[excluding overseas members ].
Below is the breakdown of Eastern Region Membership:
The size of the region means we have to put a lot more effort into running the region and also it’s training programs ~ both in teacher-training, in-service-training and seminars for members.
The Way the Region is run and administered
The Region and administered by people who volunteer their time and are elected at the Region’s annual AGM and run the region on your behalf. The Regional Committee usually meets four times a year. All members of the committee work to documented systems which are shown [ for the benefit of all  regional members ]  on the region’s website.
A schematic diagram of the regional structure is set out below:
Anyone in the region requesting advice, 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.
The Future
The above is, to date, the history of Eastern Region to date, and we hope there is a lot more to come, but how we progress is up to you. How much you support regional activities and what you put back into the region reflects your attitude to the organisation.
There is probably a lot we have missed out but this only a brief history and we are always hopeful that members will add more [ if you have any comments please advise us ] ~ this is just a brief documented milestone in our development.
If you have any comments on our regional history please e-mail us web admin .
We are confident that the region will continue to grow and develop.
	…To be continued  ~ an ever-developing story !
	Last updated: Nov  2009
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