European Union of Yoga
The European Union of Yoga (EUY) is an international non-profit organisation which co-ordinates a network of yoga teachers, training schools and yoga federations. It was founded in 1971, and has since 1973 held an annual congress at Zinal, Switzerland where yoga teachers and practitioners can meet in a multi-lingual, cross-cultural environment and hear from invited Indian yoga teachers.
History[edit]
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The European Union of Yoga (EUY) was founded in 1971 by the entrepreneur Gérard Blitz and the yoga teacher and author André Van Lysebeth, with representatives of National Federations who met in Switzerland to create the European Union of Yoga Federations (UEFNY), which became the EUY in 1975.[2][3] In 1973, the first UEFNY Congress was held at Blitz's Club Mediterranee in Zinal, Switzerland, at the suggestion of Claude Peltier.[4][5] The Yoga teacher training program has a minimum duration of 4 years and a minimum 500 hours of tuition. This must include tutorials with course tutor(s), seminars, and extra-mural courses approved by the Training School.[5]
The multilingual Zinal Congress, attended by hundreds of yoga teachers and practitioners, is held annually.[6][7][8] It seeks to network across cultures with invited Indian teachers such as T. K. V. Desikachar, who came to influence the British Wheel of Yoga through the Congress.[4]
Analysis[edit]
The Austrian yoga scholar Karl Baier describes the EUY as an international yoga association representing a secularised variant of the "modern denominational yoga" defined by Elizabeth De Michelis, a category he finds too narrow to be workable. The EUY in his view is not a neo-Hindu faith community, but it does draw on traditional yoga literature from India; postural yoga and meditation are practised, while devotional practices are largely absent.[9]
Member organisations[edit]
The EUY's member organisations are:[5]
- Austria: BYO Berufsverband der Yogalehrenden in Österreich
- Belgium: ABEPY Association Belge des Enseignants et des Pratiquants de Yoga
- Finland: SJL/YFF Yoga Federation of Finland Suomen Joogaliitto ry
- France: FIDHY Fédération Inter-enseignements de Hatha Yoga
- FYT Fédération de Yoga Traditionnels
- IFY Institut Francais De Yoga
- FVI Fédération Viniyoga Internationale
- Germany: BDY Berufsverband der Yogalehrenden in Deutschland
- Ireland: IYA Irish Yoga Association
- Italy: FIY Federazione Italiana Yoga
- Netherlands: VYN Vereniging Yogadocenten Nederland
- YV Stichting Yoga & Vedanta (associate)
- Portugal: FPY Portuguese Yoga Federation
- Romania: GNSPY Groupe National d’Etude et de Pratique du Yoga
- Slovakia: SYA Slovenska Asciacia Jogy
- YSadhana Federación Nacional de Yoga Sadhana
- Switzerland: SYV Schweizer Yogaverband
- Ukraine: UAAY Ukrainian Association Ayurveda-Yoga
- United Kingdom: BWY British Wheel of Yoga[10]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "History". Centre Vedantique Ramakrishna - Paris. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ Newcombe, Suzanne (2020). "Yoga in Europe". Handbook of Hinduism in Europe (2 vols). Brill. pp. 555–587. doi:10.1163/9789004432284_019. ISBN 9789004432284. S2CID 187825112.
- ^ Newcombe, Suzanne (June 2011). "Timeline - Modern Yoga in Britain" (PDF). Modern Yoga Research.
- ^ a b Newcombe, Suzanne (2019). Yoga in Britain : stretching spirituality and educating yogis. Bristol: Equinox Publishing. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-1-78179-661-0. OCLC 1076458787.
- ^ a b c "40 Years European Union of Yoga" (PDF). European Union of Yoga. 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ Ohlig, Adelheid (June 2016). "Zinal" (PDF). Yoga Journal (in German).
- ^ Nizard, Caroline (2017). "Yoga, entre image médiatique, connaissances théoriques et réalités vécues" [Yoga, between media image, theoretical knowledge, and lived realities]. Inter Pares (in French) (7): 35–43.
- ^ Zbinden, Reto (2013). "Die Europäische Yoga Union und die Yoga Kongresse von Zinal in Yoga Textbuch - Yoga Journal Verlag, CH-2613 Villeret".
- ^ Baier, Karl. "Modern Yoga Research: Insights and Questions" (PDF). Modern Yoga Research. p. 14. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ Anon (2016). "European Union of Yoga" (PDF). Spectrum: The Official Magazine of the British Wheel of Yoga (Autumn 2016): 10. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
BWY has been a full member almost since the inception of EUY and is currently a member of the EUY Education Team.
