Welcome from the Chair of DHIY Libby Lee
Welcome and introduction from Libby Lee Chair of DHIY
Welcome from the New Chair of DHIY , Libby Lee here pictured taking a selfie at a cake shop in Swanage.
From the right is me, Semra O’Reilly, DHIY committee member and EX Rep for the committee, Bobby Clennell Yoga Teacher recently returned to the UK, Sally Hogsflesh Yoga Teacher based in Studland.
More on the members of the DHIY Committee later. meanwhile a brief introduction to me.
I have lived in Dorset now for 8 years and teach in Swanage. I have taught Yoga for many years and most recently in Bath following my retirement from the role as Headteacher of a large Secondary School. Whilst I was working full time I taught classes in Bath and taught young people in my school. Latterly I was secretary to Avon Iyengar Yoga.
Returning from an IYUK convention in Birmingham I met Jenni Doohan who persuaded me to join DHIY committee. I took on the role of secretary to DHIY and was voted in as Chair last November taking over from Bridget Campbell who has ably steered the committee for 8 years and has now taken on the role of Treasurer, having held this role previous to becoming Chair.
It was great to join the committee and meet everyone when I first moved to the area from Bath, but then lockdown came and all our meetings were online. Slowly we returned to encounters at Day Workshops and annual face to face meetings. My experience of this group of people is that they are hard working and dedicated. They are also very friendly and welcoming.
So I am delighted to be chairing the group and honoured to hold this role. We have much to do and in the coming year we are focussing on the following issues;
Maintaining a full programme of High Quality Yoga workshops
Enabling more members and subscribers to participate. For instance providing half day workshops and maintaining a strong presence on social media.
Putting in place a means to support enterprise, inclusion and diversity through our own funds. For instance funding outreach yoga to those who cannot easily afford class fees.
Considering how best to manage the DHIY library and make it accessible to our members.
Encourage social gatherings for DHIY members.
Put in place two Exchange of learning events per year for 25-26 so that smaller groupings give a chance for more participation
Building and maintaining our membership for instance by providing workshops in different venues. For instance The Spire in Chandlers Ford has been booked for a DHIY event.
Support the work of IY (UK) in their goals of inclusivity and diversity and helping IY(UK) maintain a healthy budget to secure their future.
Recruit more members to the DHIY committee to maintain our rich and varied functions and ensure we provide good value for our membership.
Making all this happen are the DHIY Committee.
Cheree Low- Events Coordinator. Cheree books the events and liaises with the teachers and venues and the Treasurer.
Tobias Hector- Student Events Coordinator. Website and Social Media. Acting membership secretary. Tobias communicates with the participants of events, doing the register and making sure all the bookings run smoothly and with Cheree makes sure everything goes well on the day. Tobias also runs our social media presence here on Substack and other platforms and is currently working at a model of selling our T shirt stock direct which will enable you to buy all sorts of DHIY merchandise. Tobias is holding the role of membership secretary pending the appointment of a new committee member to this role.
Ingrid masters- Secretary. Ingrid also sources and complies items for what was the Newsletter and is now this blog.
Bridget Campbell- Treasurer. Bridget manages the budget and presents financial reports at meetings and at the AGM. Bridget also holds the Library and brings this to our DHIY events ( and takes it away).
Semra O’Reilly- EX rep. Semra Attends meetings of all the regional reps in the UK and with the IY(UK). She reports from the region and the committee and feeds back from what is happening regionally and in IY (UK).
Monika Karwacka- Monika has recently joined DHIY and is helping out with Social media, Photography and at events.
This is the committee. We meet about four times a year. We are keen for anyone to join and make sure we can manage what has to be done for our members and subscribers. The feedback we get is that everyone in this area really appreciates what DHIY does and wants it to continue. So please consider getting in touch to join the committee. You don’t need lots of spare time!
The contact is admin@dhiy.org for any queries.
Lastly, for now, it has been wonderful getting to know local members of DHIY and attendees at events. It is a big and capable membership who are very experienced, knowledgeable and friendly. Thank you. Each time we invite a teacher here they are keen to come - or to return- as they are so impressed with the way their teaching is received and they feel welcomed here.
And finally we all know in this community how important our yoga practice is to help us face the difficult times we live in. For me right now practice is many things but it is mostly about having an open heart in the face of many challenges in life.
If you practice yoga every day with perseverance, you will be able to face the turmoil of life with steadiness and maturity.
B. K. S. Iyengar