A message from two new Board Members – the President and the Communications Chair

A message from our incoming President and the incoming Communications Chair!

The IYAC/ACYI AGM was held on October 20 2024, and we were presented with all the wonderful initiatives our Board has been hard at work on.  Linda Shevloff, IYAC/ACYI President from 2021 to 2024, efficiently steered us through the Agenda, highlights of which were:

• Long Time student awards: Touching remarks from Bev Kalstrom who is one of the 5 winners. These students have been a class-goer for decades and by nature of their enduring practice are an inspiration to others: Hilary Sager, Bev Kalstrom, Helen Brammer-Savlov, Tita Ang-angco, Katherine Duncan.
• 2025 Abhijata Montreal Conference Update – Our Conference Committee took us through the behind the scenes work.
• Financial Reports – Susie Chan presented us with financial reports. Of note IYAC/ACYI closes the year with total equity of $422,869, an increase of $46,232.
• Membership – increased ~10% to 584 students, mostly driven by the “General Member” category.
• Iyengar Yoga Appreciation Day – This was held in April 2024 and is part of the work of the Education Round Table steered by Louie Ettling, Ann Kilbertus and Barbara Young that put together no less than 25 free education events this year including Sutra Talks, Target Poses, Pranayama and Anatomy.
• Distinguished Members Award – Barbara Young has made significant contributions to IYAC/ACYI through the development and evolution of the association and has spread Iyengar yoga in the community. We were lucky to hear both Barbara and Deborah Lomond speak.
• Sharoni Fixler was unanimously elected our new President
  • Sharoni resides in Calgary and is the founder and Director of Calgary Iyengar Yoga, since 2011. Sharoni has a degree in philosophy and has a lifelong interest in spirituality and human potential. Sharoni believes in the transformative power of the practice to illuminate our living. Sharoni is an Assessor and a member of the Education Round Table for IYAC/ACYI. She served on the board previously as Membership Chair.
• New Directors – Kate Hyland, Shreya Shah and Ruth Weiss were unanimously voted in.

The AGM 2024 Report was circulated ahead of the meeting, and in here you can read so much more about the Board’s work. Reading you will find just how many generous community members work to ensure that the organization is well run from Insurance Policies, Social Media, Ethics Advisory, and Scholarship Funds. The report can be found at:

https://iyengaryogacanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Final-AGM-2024-Report.pdf

Lastly we want to give a warm heartful thankyou to our outgoing board members.  Retiring this year are Linda Shevloff who served as President, Pam Nelson (Vice President), Susie Chan (Treasurer), Martina Walsh (Membership and Insurance), and Petra Rykers (Communications). We thank them for their years of service, and their work will serve our community for years to come.

The Board is excited about our coming year. Not only will 2025 will include the Montreal Conference in April, but you will see more communication from us on the year ahead. Stay tuned, and of course always keep practising!

With love,

Sharoni Fixler, President of the Board

Shreya Shah, Communications Chair