The Australasian Association of Yoga Therapists (AAYT) will merge with AUSactive following a unanimous vote by members at a Special General Meeting held on 1 December 2022.

AUSactive CEO Barrie Elvish said the merger was a welcomed opportunity for both associations to better support their members while growing Yoga Therapy and Yoga Therapists.

“We welcome the opportunity this merger with AAYT presents to all members of both associations. It also reinforces the advocacy strength of AUSactive and underlines the value of expanding our membership modalities earlier this year to include Yoga and Pilates,” Mr Elvish said.

“The cross pollination of technical skills and practical experience will benefit all AUSactive members, and we look forward to continuing similar discussions with other likeminded associations that see the benefits of coming together with one strong voice representing the wellbeing, movement, exercise and physical activity sectors.”

Committee Member of AAYT Ellen Nash said the association had been very impressed with the direction AUSactive has been taking in the Health Industry.

“At our most recent Committee Meeting, it was unanimously agreed to join forces with AUSactive. AUSactive will support the AAYT in all administrative areas, which then allows the Committee to focus on the promotion of Yoga Therapy, supporting our members and growing our profession,” Ms Nash said.

“Our aim is to develop and take Yoga Therapy into the wider field of preventative health modalities and to get the benefits of Yoga Therapy recognised more widely.

“We realise that, as a small organisation, it is necessary to have more administrative support than our purely voluntary and very enthusiastic present committee members can achieve.

“AUSactive is offering an opportunity to thrive and promote Yoga Therapy and Yoga Therapists more fully than we can do on our own and we are very excited by what the merger will bring in the future.”

Mr Elvish said AUSactive and AAYT have been working closely over recent months to finalise the support and member offering.

“The AAYT management committee and AUSactive representatives have met several times to agree logistics of the merger, to ensure members continue to benefit from valuable support while allowing the strategic direction of AAYT and AUSactive to move forward,” Mr Elvish said.

“Over the next 12 months we’ll continue to evolve together, and this is fantastic news for the Australian health and fitness sector.”