An Interview with Margaret Hall

Margaret Hall is a teacher and long-standing member of IY(UK). She has recently been appointed as Chair of the newly-formed Equity Standing Committee (ESC), alongside Helen Townsend (as deputy chair), which will report back to the board and inform IY(UK)’s diversity and inclusion practices and policies going forwards.

What made you volunteer to be Chair of the new Equity Standing Committee?

I am passionate about social justice and dislike any form of discrimination, particularly racial discrimination, because growing up in the '60s it was always blatantly obvious to me.

I’m the daughter of first-generation Windrush immigrants who instilled in me the values of working hard, and not blaming others. We had to be the best we could be in order to get ahead. Their principle was that good comes to those who do good.

I have been a member of IY(UK) for over 15 years, and I began to feel that it doesn’t represent me. But rather than blindly paying my membership fee and not doing anything about it I felt that it was time to get involved. After all, this is a members’ association, and the board is just there to represent the members.

Then, recent events that led to the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the setting up of the campaigning group Iyengar Yoga in Action galvanised me into taking action. I am the Kent Rep, but I volunteered for the ESC in order to create change, and hope this is possible once it is formulated.

What do you think the role of the Equity Standing Committee will be?

As the Chair of the new Equity Standing Committee, we first need to co-opt four further members*. Until the committee is finalised, I don’t want to categorically state what the committee’s remit will be, but there are some principles.

I’d like to think that we have a duty of care, because we care. We would like to encourage all teachers and students to be familiar with appropriate language and have an understanding of diversity. Any member who has been discriminated against or has any issues that may exclude them should be comfortable to speak to an ESC advisor in order to address their complaint, without fear of repercussions.

We all have a lot to learn, including myself, and education will be a key part of our goal. Working alongside the relevant committees, such as the Training and Assessment Committee, we would

* Now appointed: Lucy Dalley, Sue Forde, Tina Freeland and Clare Satha.

like to incorporate anti-racist education and diversity into our training practises and Professional Development (PD) Days.

When we are fully formed we would like to put together a comprehensive Equality Policy for IY(UK), which can create a framework and change our culture, making our organisation more inclusive and diverse.

What are your goals for the Equity Standing Committee?

Equality and equity have subtly different meanings, but which are important for yoga. Equality means that we’re all treated the same. Equity means that we treat people in a fair and impartial way, according to their needs, as we are not all the same. I think it is essential that as we evolve within IY(UK), we grow together, respecting each other, showing kindness and welcoming difference, so that our future is enriched with diversity and inclusion for a brighter and better future. We need to look at how we can be more welcoming to all, and our demographics show that there are some aspects of our past that we need to change.

Abhijata has already begun this process through her radical reorganisation of the assessment process. I like to think that we can move on from our top-down, hierarchical system to develop a fairer and more inclusive approach.

What commitment will members of the Equity Standing Committee expect to give?

At the moment we haven’t worked out what the time commitment will be, but there will be one! We ask of any members that they commit to listen and learn and have an open mind. We also ask that they commit to their own self-education, as well as having a passion for social justice. What was your own yoga journey?

I went along to an adult education class in North Dulwich when I was 17 years old. The teacher there took me to the Royal Festival Hall where I met BKS Iyengar and I was hooked. At 45 years old I became a teacher at the suggestion of my then teacher, as he said I was so into the detail.

I have a great mutual exchange with my students, I love teaching. As teachers we all bring our own personal experience to Iyengar yoga, each acting as translators for Iyengar’s method. I believe that everyone’s unique teaching style and experience should be respected regardless of what level of seniority you’ve achieved.