Traditional Yoga Association[®] Constituted by Deed of Trust on 6 February 2002
Charity Number 1091469
Annual Report
1[st] July 2023 – 30 June 2024
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Annual Report of the Traditional Yoga Association[®] 2023/24
Founded in the UK in 1995, the Traditional Yoga Association[®] (TYA) was registered as a charity by Trust Deed on 6[th] February 2002. This Annual Report covers the period from 1[st] July 2023 to 30[th] June 2024.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Name and Charity Number
The Traditional Yoga Association[®] is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission number 1091469.
The Traditional Yoga Association is also known as the TYA.
Charity’s principal address
84 Kenilworth Avenue, Southcote, Reading, Berkshire RG30 3DW
Chairperson of the Charity
Swami Ambikananda
The Trustees serving during the year were as follows:
Dr Uddhava Samman
Ms Manisha Wilmette Brown Ms Penny Hitchings-Jones Mrs Hamulata Patel
Independent Examiner
Mr K. Bhadrasa
Bankers:
Lloyds Bank, Broad Street, Reading, RG1 2BT Co-operative Bank, PO box 250, Skelmersdale, WN8 6WT
Insurance Brokers:
Balens, Bridge House, Portland Road, Malvern, Worcs. WR14 2TA
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Towergate Insurance, Towergate House, First Floor, 5 Airport West, Lancaster Way, Yeadon, Leeds, LS19 7ZA
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Trust Deed
The Traditional Yoga Association[®] is a registered charity and is governed by its Trust Deed dated 6[th] February 2002.
As set out in the Trust Deed future Trustees will be appointed by resolution of the Trustees. New Trustees are given induction by the Trustees and are able to attend courses where relevant, in order to fulfil their role as Trustees.
Risk Management
It is the duty of the Charity’s Trustees to ensure that the Charity’s resources are protected and internal financial controls are in place. The Trustees ensure that regular reviews of the effectiveness of the Charity’s internal financial controls are undertaken.
Risk Assessments are conducted on a regular basis and there is a continuous monitoring of financial controls. The Trustees at all times seek to Manage Risk to the Charity and seek to reduce risk wherever possible in all aspects of the running of the Charity. For reasons of cost and practicality, the system of internal control is intended to manage rather than eliminate risk and to give reasonable rather than absolute assurance.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
The objects of the Charity, as set out in the Trust Deed of 6 February 2002 are:
To promote public education in the three facets of the Yoga Darshan: Jnana, Bhakti and Karma which include education and research, devotional and spiritual practices and rituals and the fulfilment of the responsibilities of care and service;
To provide relief for people who are in financial need; and
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To promote education by the provision of schools and education to the public.
To reach our first charitable objective we built the three facets of Yoga into our organisational structure. To cultivate Jnana Yoga we offer Yoga Teachers Courses to train Yoga teachers; topical Yoga workshops; Philosophy courses; Meditation courses; and workshops open to all. The philosophy of Yoga is taught in specific classes but it is also an important and integral part of every course offered by the Traditional Yoga Association[®] .
As part of our Bhakti Yoga the TYA organises devotional functions which bring together members of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds providing both inter-cultural education and spiritual expression.
As part of our Karma Yoga we set up The MUKTI Project and ring-fenced funds to support dispossessed and endangered children in India and since 2013 we have been giving grants to charities in England that help people who are homeless. This is our Yoga practice of working for others rather than oneself alone.
Public Benefit
The Traditional Yoga Association provides a very high standard of training for those who wish to become Yoga teachers and the provision of support and CPD for teachers after they have completed their course.
The TYA offers Yoga classes, courses, workshops, meditation courses and philosophy classes open to all and seeks to teach Yoga in a way that improves the physical, mental and spiritual health of everyone who attends the classes. The Charity welcomes all adults to its classes, trainings and courses regardless of their age, race, faith, gender, sexual orientation or personal circumstances. Where possible bursaries are given to people who are unable to afford classes or courses taught by the Traditional Yoga Association. The TYA also produces publications and CDs as another way to educate members of the public.
The TYA set up the MUKTI Project to raise funds to support the education and care of endangered children in India and more recently the charity has started donating to projects that support homeless people in the UK.
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Our Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission Guidance on Public Benefit (2013).
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
Financial Review
The Trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 30[th] June 2024. Please see the Receipts and Payments Accounts for a full report.
In the period from 1[st] July 2023 to the 30[th] June 2024 the total income was £38,910 and the Expenditure was £59,040. Of this £21,238 was income specifically for The MUKTI Project.
Grants totalling £23,250 were allocated from Restricted funds by The MUKTI Project. The remaining funds belonged to the next financial year’s allocation of grants.
Charity Reserves Policy
Since the Charity’s overheads are relatively small the Trustees do not wish to hold large reserves in unrestricted funds. However, given the current uncertainties caused by the increase in the cost of living, the Trustees now aim to maintain Reserves equivalent to the average annual expenditure from unrestricted funds for the previous two financial years.
The balance at 30[th] June 2024 stood at £15,694 in unrestricted funds. This amount is lower than the amount recommended in the Charity’s Reserves Policy, however, two weeks after the end of the financial year the TYA received a grant of £15,000 from the Philo Trust bringing the charity’s balance into line with the Reserves Policy. The Reserves Policy will continue to be reviewed every six months to ensure that it continues to be appropriate for the work of the Charity.
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Review of Activities of the TYA 2023/24
The Philo Trust
The Traditional Yoga Association was very grateful to receive a grant of £15,000 from the Philo Trust during this year which enabled us to develop new innovative courses, to train the next generation of Yoga Teacher trainers, to make our classes and courses accessible to all, and to allow the TYA to expand and reach a wider audience.
TYA TUTOR TRAINING PROGRAMME
Yoga Teacher Training Course ( Training the next generation of Yoga Teacher Tutors)
The Yoga Teacher training programme is an important part of the work of the Yoga School and the on-going growth of the TYA. We still offer something quite unique in the field of Yoga: an emphasis on understanding the mechanics of movement and how to teach safely as well as the rich philosophy that underpins the teaching of traditional Yoga. In everything that we do the TYA seeks to offer excellence at an affordable price.
Swami Ambikananda has spent much time over the last two years training the next generation of Teacher Tutors ~ those who will go on to carry forward our TYA Teacher Training Course. Having completed offering the Training Course for Tutors of the TYA’s Foundation Course in 2023, in 2024 she began training Senior TYA teachers as Tutors to teach the Yoga Teacher Training Course and they will complete their Tutor training during 2025.
Swami Ambikananda has also re-organised and enhanced the Foundation Course and the Teacher Training Course to make it possible for the new Tutors to confidently deliver these courses. To this end, a complete package of training materials has been created, including extensive notes for students and tutors, as well as PowerPoint presentations and teaching plans.
All Teacher trainers are required to teach the same syllabus so that all TYA Yoga teachers complete the same training. However, each Tutor is encouraged to bring their own experience to the course and thus personalise the broader
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teaching of Yoga. The TYA Teacher Training syllabus has been approved by The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA), which enables all TYA teachers to gain membership of this organisation if they wish. The Teacher Training Course has also been approved and accredited by Yoga Alliance USA.
Yoga Foundation Courses in 2024
One of our Tutors in Hertfordshire taught his second Foundation Course and 10 new students graduated in May 2024. Most of those who attended his Foundation Course now wish to go on to study the Teachers Course with him.
A TYA Tutor in Reading also taught two TYA Yoga Foundation Courses during 2024, and she is also planning to begin a Teachers Course in 2025.
New TYA Courses for Yoga Teachers
Many teachers ~ from different schools ~ speak of the difficulty of introducing philosophy into classes. For example, classes taught in gyms and health centres seem to be centred around ‘fitness’ and ‘flexibility’.
In response, in 2024 Swami Ambikananda, thanks to the invaluable support given by the Philo Trust, was able to develop, write and teach two new postgraduate courses for Yoga teachers about how to integrate the teaching of Yoga Meditation and Yoga Philosophy into Yoga Asana (posture) classes. While meditation and philosophy form part of the basic training of the ‘teacher training package’ we offer, both of these courses offer new teaching concepts and approaches to deepen and expand what teachers can provide.
1. Teaching Meditation for Yoga Teachers Course 1
During March and April 2024 Swami Ambikananda taught a new course on Teaching Meditation for Yoga teachers. It was taught over five sessions and there was great demand for places on the course, which was opened to teachers from other schools. The feedback from the course described it as excellent.
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Teaching Yoga Philosophy Course for Yoga Teachers Course 2
Swami Ambikananda developed a new post graduate course on Yoga Philosophy for Yoga teachers and taught this over three sessions. It proved very successful. Twenty-eight people joined the course, more people wanted to do the course but the places were capped at this number to allow Swamiji to focus on each person. The feedback was excellent Swami Ambikananda felt that there is a need for teachers, not only to deepen their understanding of Yoga philosophy, but also to integrate and articulate ‘brief bites’ of this philosophy into what are basically ‘asana’ classes.
TYA Blog
Swami Ambikananda also wrote an article to accompany each of the Yoga philosophy sessions and these were posted on the TYA website so that the teaching of Yoga Philosophy could reach a wider audience as well promoting the work of the TYA:
https://www.traditionalyoga.org/blog.html
Yoga Philosophy for Yoga Teachers Course in Spain
In addition to the Yoga teachers in the UK, 42 people have completed the TYA Yoga Teacher training course in Spain, and this has enriched the work of the TYA.
Teachers in Spain were reporting the same difficulties in introducing philosophy into what are basically ‘asana’ classes, so the Philosophy Course was made available to them. Twenty teachers joined the Spanish course and the feedback was excellent. As Swamiji was teaching the three sessions, they were translated into Spanish by another TYA teacher, Shankara, who is a professional translator and philosophy teacher. In addition, Ishvari Sanz Zurdo translated the PowerPoint presentations, course notes and Blog articles into Spanish before each class.
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Teacher Training for the FLY Course
Swami Ambikananda continued to train Yoga teachers who wanted to teach the FLY (For Life Yoga) TYA course to older students during the year. This course was developed to provide Yoga and the Otago Exercise Programme (OEP) to older people. Like all TYA courses, it also explores Yoga philosophy and encourages discussion among participants on philosophical issues.
Teachers Continuing Professional Development (CPDs)
The TYA organises CPD workshops every year for TYA teachers as well as teachers from other schools who wish to deepen their study of Yoga and the following workshops were organised:
Partner Yoga Workshop
A three-hour in-person Partner Yoga workshop was taught by a senior TYA Yoga teacher, Vikki Philpott, in June 2024, and explored how to incorporate Yoga in pairs into a Yoga class.
Partnering in Yoga can be both invigorating and instructive. Working with a partner often allows deeper stretches for students and may help them to align in ways they could not manage on their own.
Ba Duan Jin Workshop
Swami Ambikananda’s study of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) included studying Qi Gong. She gave TYA Yoga Teachers a free 2-hour workshop in a simple ~ but powerful ~ set of moves from Qi Gong ~ known as Ba Duan Jin (The Eight Brocades) ~ as she feels they fit well within a Yoga class.
The workshop included the history of the sequence, the eight moves in that sequence, and their effects on meridians and elements in the Chinese tradition . The workshop was a great success and was conducted online so that teachers could attend from anywhere in the UK or from abroad.
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First Aid Course
The TYA requires all its teachers to have a valid First Aid certificate and a basic knowledge of CPR and First Aid.
Each year we invite the British Red Cross to teach a First Aid course for TYA teachers so that everyone has a valid certificate. The course was held in June 2024 and another one is planned for 2025.
TYA Ongoing Traditional Yoga Classes
TYA-trained teachers continue to teach weekly Yoga classes to a wide spectrum of different people around the UK as well as in Spain.
After graduating from the Teachers Course, teachers continue their training through courses and workshops as well as attending master classes taught by Swami Ambikananda.
Teacher’s Master Classes
Swami Ambikananda continues to teach master-classes to teachers from the TYA and other Yoga schools to learn new material as well as further develop their teaching skills.
These classes continue to be conducted online and remain very popular as they can be accessed by teachers from all over the country. This includes an early morning class and an evening class each week. Swamiji integrates the philosophy of Yoga into every class that she teaches, choosing different themes for each term and her classes are profound and exemplify the teaching and integration of Yoga philosophy into a Yoga class.
Included in these master-classes is an online Yoga class for older people who would not be able to join her other two online classes. TYA Teachers are also invited to join to get an idea of how to work with this specialist group.
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In addition to mainstream Yoga classes, some of our teachers teach specialist classes to enable people with disabilities to be able to benefit from Yoga:
Yoga for people with Multiple Sclerosis
Uddhava Samman and Hema Patel have continued to teach four Yoga classes a week for people with Multiple Sclerosis, and the feedback from these classes has been excellent. Yoga has so much to offer people who are living with MS. Whilst there is no cure for MS, Yoga can help people to keep moving, maintain strength, improve balance and sustain their mental health.
Meditation classes for people with Multiple Sclerosis
Both Yogasana and meditation are recommended for MS in the NICE guidelines - and people find the meditation classes very helpful. During 2024 Uddhava Samman taught two 6-week introductory courses for people with MS who were new to Meditation. This course is based on Swami Ambikananda’s teaching and includes a number of different meditation techniques. Once people have completed this course they can then join the ongoing meditation classes which Uddhava teaches throughout the year for people with MS.
ADDITIONAL TYA ACITVITIES
University of Oxford
Following the success of her session in June 2023, Swami Ambikananda was invited to teach one of the days of a 7-day course at the University of Oxford entitled Mindfulness and Meditation: The Art and Science of Self Transformation. The title of her presentation was The Power of The Pause.
The course was organised by the University of Oxford’s Department of Continuing Education and took place at Rewley House, Oxford University.
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Again, the feedback from attendees ~ all post-graduate psychologists, exalumni of Oxford University ~ was excellent. This course was extremely popular and Dr Miguel Farias, Wolfson College, Oxford University, wrote of Swamiji’s teaching:
“Swami Ambikananda knows much more than yoga and meditation: she is a published translator of the great Indian sacred scriptures and her understanding of Hindu philosophy, and ability to explain it in clear terms, is in itself a transcendent experience.”
World Yoga Festival
The Traditional Yoga Association has developed a reputation for excellence in the teaching of Yoga and was therefore, once again, invited to teach at the World Yoga Festival which took place over four days in 2024 close to Henley-on-Thames. This gave TYA teachers an opportunity to showcase the work of the TYA to a wider audience.
Five of our Senior Tutors and Swami Ambikananda took part in teaching at the festival, with hundreds of people attending their classes each day. The feedback from all these classes was excellent.
Swami Ambikananda was also invited to write an article for the World Yoga Festival programme and she wrote about Jyotish and Yoga. The article is entitled “Being part of a cosmic force” and it begins:
“Being part of a cosmic force is quite a challenge. We are used to thinking of ourselves as discrete bundles of being, separate from all the other bundles. Yoga tells us we are The Whole. Yoga, Ayurveda and Jyotish (Vedic astrology) are three systems that grew and evolved together, and at the heart of all three we find an idea that has persisted through the ages: our inter-connectedness.”
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Responsibilities of Care
Discovering the spirit of Yoga on the mat, and then taking that spirit off the mat and into our daily lives, has always been the dream of the teachers of the Traditional Yoga Association ~ and MUKTI is a pathway we created for that.
In 1998 the TYA established the MUKTI Project in order to support the education of impoverished and endangered children in India. Since then we have extended our fund-raising to support homeless people in the UK.
The MUKTI Project continues to be well-supported and the Trustees are grateful to everyone who gave so generously during the year. In this way we feel we live up to the highest ideals of Yoga ~ by giving and sharing.
None of this would be possible without the generosity and hard work of the wonderful people who continue to support the fund raising efforts of MUKTI. It is impossible to name everyone but special gratitude flows from us to our loyal patron Trudie Styler for her support.
During the year a number of people worked very hard to raise money for MUKTI; Hema Patel organised a sponsored Garba in October 2023 which raised £10,600 for the Mukti Project. Jude Bell organised an evening of chanting in June 2024 and raised a total of £305 for Mukti, Daniela Capasso gave Zumba classes and raised £115 and Swami Ambikananda donated any diksha (alms) given to her to the project.
TYA teachers taught six Blindfold Yoga classes during 2023 and gave their time for free so that all the money raised from the classes could be given to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. The classes were very successful and a total of £500 was raised.
With this support, in 2023/24 we were able to give a total of £23,250 in grants to the charities we support in India and the UK and the following grants were given:
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Karm Marg India, a home for street-children in Delhi : £12,750
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Naz, a home for children who are HIV Positive in Delhi : £2,000
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Gandhigar Kachholi, a centre of excellence for learning for children with disabilities in Gujarat: £3,000
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Launchpad, for homeless people in Reading: £2,500
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New Beginnings, helping homeless people in Reading: £2,500
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Guide Dogs for the Blind Association: £500
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Traditional Yoga Association Constituted by Deed of Trust on 6 February 2002
Receipts and Payments Accounts for the period Year from 01 July 2023 to 30 June 2024
Charity No 1091469
Traditional Yoga Association (Charity No 1091469)
Receipts and Payments Accounts for the period 01July 2023 to 30 June 2024
| Balance Sheet As at 30 June Current assets Cash at bank and in hand Current Liabilities Amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Total net assets Income Funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds (The Mukti Project) |
2024 £ £ 40,362 40,362 - - |
2024 £ £ 40,362 40,362 - - |
2024 £ £ 40,362 40,362 - - |
£ 40,362 _ 40,362 15,694 24,668 _ 40,362_ |
2023 £ £ £ 60,491 60,491 _- - 60,491 ______ 60,491 30,885 29,606 ___ 60,491 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- |
|||||
Traditional Yoga Association (Charity No 1091469)
Receipts and Payments Accounts for the period 01July 2023 to 30 June 2024
| TYA | 2024 | TYA | 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income |
Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total |
| Funds | Funds | Funds | Funds | |||
| Mukti Project | Mukti Project | |||||
| Philo Trust | 0 | 0 | 15,000 | 15,000 | ||
| TYA Tutor’s training course | 0 | 0 | 1,500 | 1,500 | ||
| Yoga Foundation course | 1,691 | 1,691 | 0 | 0 | ||
| TYA In-service training | 2,462 | 2,462 | 1,661 | 1,661 | ||
| TYA Membership fees | 2,540 | 2,540 | 2,300 | 2,300 | ||
| Book sales | 1,324 | 1,324 | 401 | 401 | ||
| Yoga Masterclasses | 9,489 | 9.489 | 11,069 | 11,069 | ||
| Blindfold Yoga classes | 30 | 30 | 464 | 464 | ||
| Royalties from book sales | 0 | 0 | 35 | 35 | ||
| Gift Aid | 0 | 1,422 | 1,422 | 0 | 976 | 976 |
| Donations | 136 | 8,631 |
8,767 | 1,000 | 12,332 |
13,332 |
| Sponsored Garba | 10,600 |
10,600 | ||||
| Chanting evening | 305 | 305 | ||||
| Mukti raffle | 165 | 165 | ||||
| Zumba classes | 115 | 115 | ||||
| Sun Salutations Challenge | 0 | 0 | 17,229 | 17,229 | ||
| Golf Tournament | 0 | 0 | 3,496 | 3,496 | ||
| Total | £17,672 | £21,238 |
£38,910 | £33,430 | £34,033 | £67,463 |
Traditional Yoga Association (Charity No 1091469)
Receipts and Payments Accounts for the period 01July 2023 to 30 June 2024
| TYA | 2024 | TYA | 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expenditure | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | Unrestricted | Restricted | Total |
| Funds | Funds | Funds | Funds | |||
| Mukti Project | Mukti Project | |||||
| Tutor Development | 0 | 0 | 259 | 259 | ||
| TYA Course costs & Development | 1,161 | 1,161 | 984 | 984 | ||
| Trainers’ fees |
19,030 | 19,030 | 17,075 | 17,075 | ||
| TYA Video recording | 675 | 675 | 975 | 975 | ||
| TYA monthly blog | 300 | 300 | 420 | 420 | ||
| CIMSPA & Yoga Alliance Membership | 535 | 535 | 482 | 482 | ||
| Amazon fees | 232 | 232 | 190 | 190 | ||
| Purchase of books to sell | 1,000 | 1,000 | 172 | 172 | ||
| Advertising | 918 | 918 | 138 | 138 | ||
| Online classes equipment/support | 1,700 | 1,700 | 905 | 905 | ||
| Travel costs | 172 | 172 | 332 | 332 | ||
| Updating Website & Domain renewal | 3,044 | 200 |
3,244 |
2,398 | 445 | 2,843 |
| Stationery, printing & postage | 1,476 | 212 |
1,688 | 856 | 198 | 1,054 |
| Public Liability Insurance | 352 | 352 |
704 | 396 | 395 | 791 |
| Room hire | 1,633 | 25 |
1,658 | 484 | 50 | 534 |
| TYA administrative costs | 10 | 0 | 10 | 700 |
0 | 700 |
| Bank charges | 30 | 205 | 235 | 45 | 256 | 301 |
| Grants | 23,250 |
23,250 | 22,500 | 22,500 | ||
| Fundraising expenses | 1,933 |
1,933 | 2,268 | 2,268 | ||
| Total |
£32,863 | £26,177 |
£59,040 | £26,811 | £26,272 | £53,083 |
Traditional Yoga Association (Charity No 1091469)
Receipts and Payments Accounts for the period 01July 2023 to 30 June 2024
| TYA | 2024 | TYA | 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Restricted |
Total |
Unrestricted | Restricted | Total | |
| Funds | Funds |
Funds | Funds | Funds | Funds | |
| Mukti Project | Mukti Project | |||||
| Surplus in period | (£15,191) | (£4,938) |
(£20,129) | £6,619 | £7,761 | £14,380 |
| Funds at 1 July 2023 | £30,885 | £29,606 |
£60,491 | £24,266 | £21,845 | £46,111 |
| Funds at 30 June 2024 | £15,694 | £24,668 |
£40,362 | £30,885 | £29,606 | £60,491 |
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examinerfs Report Report to the trusteesl members of T£4)i iioh14 L 4)Id trssc4C Iofiod On accounts for the year ended 3cfltr Charity no lif any Set out on pages I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (Ihe Trust") for the year ended Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust. you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordan with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (Ihe Acr). I report in respect of my examination of the Trusys accounts rArried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 14515)(bl of the Act. I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attention connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect.. accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or the accounts do not accord with the accounting records Independent examinerfs statement I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection wtth the examination to which attention should drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ' Please delete the wollls in the bQkerS rfthey do not apply. Signed: Date: Name: Relevant professional qualificationlsl or body (if any): CH.ILTld Ac(04AT4pJff Address: CLL ffAeM c£<SCEAIT Tl i4ftST IER October 2018
Section B Disclosure Only complete rf the examiner needs to highlight matters of concem {see CC32, Independent examination of charrty acUnt$. directions and guidan for examiners). Give here brief detsils of I any items that the exarningr wishes to di$¢lose. IER October 2018