Sally Janssen, an early president of
the IYTA, was tasked with setting up the
association’s code of ethics, a document
that has evolved with the times to
support IYTA teachers today, but then
and now required teachers to follow the
yamas and niyamas of Patanjali, and to
refrain from promising supernatural
connections, or disseminating ‘dogma’.
Matthew O’Malveney, one of the
early teachers of ‘Christian Yoga’, was
the fi rst editor of the International
Light, which became a much-loved
quarterly journal. These days, the
journal showcases a contemporary
evidence-based approach to the teaching
of yoga, but still has an international
fl avour, carrying articles from Greece,
the Middle East, India and Singapore,
as well as the US, UK and Canada.Celebrate with the IYTA
As befi ts its Australian cultural origins,
the IYTA is non-guru-based, and while
members are free to follow their own
guru, the offi cial leadership of the
IYTA is democratically elected, and can
only serve a single four-year term. Its
Handbook of Asanas is compiled by an
evolving team of teachers and constantly
updated, according to IYTA’s evidence-
based approach. And in recent years,
under the leadership of its outgoing
president, Mary-Louise Parkinson, the
training association has branched out
into postgraduate training in prenatal,
postnatal, back care, and Yin, with more
advanced training modules currently in
development.
It’s 50 years since IYTA was formed
— a great opportunity to celebrate
the development of yoga in Australia
over the last fi ve decades. Regardless
of professional affi liation, IYTA invites
all to participate in its anniversary
Convention, 20-22 October at Sydney’s
Town Hall. Information on speakers and
sessions are available on the website.
http://www.iyta.com.au34
october 2017yogajournal.com.au