NELIY - News

After the AGM, Committee changes

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 15:08:00 +0000

On September 28th, we held our 2025 Annual General Meeting (online). It was a very small meeting, but we got the usual business done, including confirming next year's membership subscription will remain at only £23. We have held it at that low level for a quite a while now, so it will have to rise in 2027.

This week also saw changes in the NELIY Committee. We say 'Goodbye and thank you' to Lesley Stevas, after her stint as Secretary, and 'Welcome back' to Pam Mackenzie, rejoining the committee, this time as Membership Secretary (taking over from Louise Leonard, who remains as Chair). Ros Bell will take on the office and duties of Secretary for now, but we are still looking for someone for this position, since Ros already has the website to look after (or volunteer to manage the website, and Ros can stay as Secretary!). We are also delighted that Karina Moskowicz has moved into the post of NELIY's representative on the Executive of IY(UK), and has already attended two such meetings.

If you want to read AGM Minutes, or chat about how to get more involved in supporting NELiY, perhaps by joining the Committee, please contact Louise or Ros.

AGM September 28th 2025

Sat, 16 Aug 2025 14:07:00 +0000

NELIY will be holding our next Annual General Meeting on

Sunday, September 28, at 10 am online using Zoom.

All members are warmly welcome, and should already have received this information via email. Come along and get involved, ask questions and find out what’s going on, or just listen. We will send out a Zoom link for you to join a few days before the meeting.

Hope to see you there.

Louise Leonard,

NELIY Chair

NELIY leaving Facebook

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 15:04:00 +0000

(Not an April Fool's joke!) For a while now, some NELIY members have been concerned about the apparent shift in values displayed by the Facebook and the Meta corporation and its principal shareholder and founder, Mark Zuckerberg. At our most recent committee meeting, we discussed NELIY's use of this social media platform, and felt it was becoming incompatible with yoga ethics. We find it a revealing exercise to consider each of the Yamas and Niyamas in turn, and reflect on whether use of Facebook supports our efforts at observing these guidelines for thought and behaviour.

In case you are not aware of how Meta/Facebook and its owner have shifted in their manifest attitudes over recent years, here's an article about some aspects of this. Meta's shift on the issue of inclusivity is at odds with the policy of our own parent organisation, IY(UK). We won't claim that this newspaper article is a perfectly reliable source, but most of what is in here is fairly easy to verify.

We announced on Facebook that we would be closing NELIY's Page by the end of March 2025. Today that Page is being closed down, so please keep an eye on this website to stay up-to-date with our workshops and news.

Two goodbyes

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 17:09:00 +0000

Following today's committee meeting, we now have two departures anticipated in a month or two.

One departure is that of our Membership Secretary, Jenny Boyce. We're very grateful to Jenny for all the time, energy, ideas and professionalism she has brought to the role. Jenny will be staying on until the end of March, but will then be leaving the position and the committee. This means there is plenty of time for Jenny to mentor our next Membership Secretary - could that be you? It's a pretty straightforward job, mainly consisting of keeping our list of members up-to-date (so you'd need to be fairly comfortable using a simple spreadsheet). Someone who is a bit more tech-inclined might also like to get involved in managing our mailing lists (not a big task; we have only around 300 people on our list). Do get in touch if you're interested in the role.

The other 'goodbye' is from NELIY to Facebook. Yes, we're joining the ranks of bodies who have decided to reduce or remove their presence from social media conglomerates that are largely under the control of individuals whose avowed values and politics seem far removed from yogic ethical principles. We don't use Instagram or X, but we've long had a Facebook (owned by Meta) Page, and that feels less appropriate these days. We'll make a further announcement about this, and probably shut the Page down towards the end of March.

Happy spring!

Committee update

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 20:53:00 +0000

2025 already doesn't feel so 'new', but happy new year anyway!

The NELIY committee will be holding one of its regular meetings later this month, and it'll be the first for our new Honorary Secretary, Lesley Stevas, who is taking over in this office from Alice Knowelden. Alice stepped in to help us when we needed it, and we're very grateful to her. Although Alice has left the committee for now, we look forward to her return one day.

Meanwhile, we're delighted to welcome Lesley, a long-standing member of NELIY, who - besides being a talented artist and yoga teacher - has actually had formal training in secretarial skills, and apologised to us for having let her shorthand get rusty! We don't think that will be a problem. :-)

After the AGM, 2024

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:05:00 +0000

NELIY's Annual General Meeting was held online on 15th September, with atendance from the general membership, as well as the NELIY Committee. Now that things have settled after the pandemic lockdowns, it was a 'business as normal' sort of meeting, with the usual formalities seen to without complications. We're keeping the membership fee the same, and confirming the current committee members in their posts. As a reminder - and encouragement to join us - here is the committee:

Chair - Louise Leonard (also acting as NELIY's representative with IY(UK), though we're looking for a successor for this post)

Deputy Chair and Website manager - Ros Bell, assisted on website by Karina Moskowicz

Treasurer - Mags Bee-Quigley; Secretary - Alice Knowelden; Membership secretary - Jenny Boyce

Workshop team - Denise Ryan, Olivia Howden

We read and heard reports from all the main areas of NELIY activity, and were pleased to note growing membership, healthy finances, and a flourishing workshop programme. Over the past year, we have offered seven workshops, all well attended, with more in the pipeline.

As usual, we conclude with a reminder that there is still space on the committee for someone who wants to support what we do, and maybe develop a few useful skills along the way. Many thanks, not only to the hard-working committee, but to all our members and friends, especially those who have attended workshops. See you soon!

NELIY AGM 15th September 2024

Sun, 11 Aug 2024 22:08:00 +0000

All NELIY members are invited to attend our Annual General Meeting on 15th September, 2024.

This will be an online meeting, starting 10am (probably lasting for around an hour). We’ll send an email to all current members nearer the time; this will include the meeting Zoom link, along with the agenda and reports.

We hope you will join us and hear about what NELIY has been doing over the past year, and bring your input to our plans for the year ahead. If there are any questions or issues you'd like to raise before the meeting, please get in touch with the Chair, or another member of the NELIY Commitee, well in advance.

We look forward to seeing you at the AGM.

Yoga for refugee women

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 23:40:00 +0000

In keeping with its founding objectives, NELIY supports endeavours to bring yoga to people who may be disadvantaged, and who might otherwise not have the opportunity to attend classes. An organisation we have had such links with since 2022 is the New Citizens’ Gateway (NCG), a registered charity supporting refugees and asylum seekers. The Jasmine Women’s Group is run by the charity, aiming to create a secure and inviting space for refugee and asylum-seeking women to connect with others, establish friendships, and gain empowerment, whilst gaining insights into life in the UK.

NELIY provides the funding for a qualified Iyengar yoga teacher to provide yoga classes for this group. Last year, there were a total of 17 Iyengar yoga classes, with an average participation of 20 individuals per class, from various nations including Sierra Leone, Congo and Afghanistan. Feedback collected from the participants showed that the yoga classes are amongst the most well-received activities organised by the Jasmine Woman’s Group, with the 16 most consistent participants (who had completed at least 6 sessions) reporting a hugely positive impact on their mental well-being.

We are very grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the work of this charitable organisation, and delighted to hear that the classes are so well received. Many thanks to the teacher who made this connection for us, and who is doing such valued work.

New Treasurer for NELIY

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 10:59:00 +0000

For years, NELIY has benefitted from the services of the amazing Pam MacKenzie as our Treasurer. Pam has now formally retired from the role, and handed over to Mags Bee-Quigley, who has also carried out sterling work for NELIY during her many years on the Committee. Huge thanks to Pam from us all. And a very warm welcome to Mags (below) in her new post.

A summer workshop

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 00:45:00 +0000

Traditionally, NELIY workshops have taken a summer break, and have only happened during school terms. Since July-August is a time when many regular yoga classes pause too, keen yoga class-goers can find themselves without many options. So we thought we'd try something new this year, and offer an August workshop.

This is also a special treat for us, since our summer workshop features a return visit from Level 3 teacher, Aidan Love, who last taught for us in 2015. Aidan's early studies in Iyengar yoga were in London, and he has attended our parent institute in India, but he moved to Istanbul in 2009, so NE Londoners don't get many opportunities to attend workshops with him. We look forward to welcoming Aidan back to summery London for this occasion, and hope many of you will join us.

It's on Sunday 4th August, 2-5pm, at our usual venue in East Finchley. See our Events and Booking pages to reserve your place.