BWY

In 2017, a black teacher training student on a British Wheel of Yoga course said to me: “BWY – that stands for British White Yoga, right?” She had a glint in her eye and was no doubt partly winding me up because I was Chair of the organisation at the time. However, her comment conveyed an uncomfortable truth about her perception of BWY. Seven years later, has anything changed? When I was Chair of the British Wheel of Yoga between 2016 and 2018, one of the most rewarding things I did was connect with Dr Stacie CC Graham and Jaz Mullings Lambert. I turned to these leading black yoga teachers to try to understand why BWY was predominantly white and had so few Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic members, teachers, and teacher trainers. I was elected Chair of BWY, promising renewal based on diversity, inclusion, and standards. One of my first actions was to commission an analysis of the composition of the membership. These figures in June 2016 showed that BWY had just 0.5% of members wh

Those of you who are British Wheel of Yoga members will have received a statement on Monday 30 th January 2024 about my expulsion from the organisation. Each of the main assertions in that statement are either wholly or partially inaccurate. Let me take you through them one by one: 1. “(Paul) …. was expelled due to financial impropriety during his time as Chair” .   I totally refute this statement and consider it to be defamatory and libellous. Nowhere in the findings of the governance consultant’s review is there a reference to “financial impropriety”. The consultant refers instead to various failures of “governance” – how potential conflicts of interests were recorded, minuted and managed. The Oxford dictionary defines impropriety as dishonest and improper behaviours – examples given include fraud, embezzlement and so on. Using that term in this statement appears to be a deliberate attempt to destroy my reputation and character. As I have shown in detail in my previous blog, I