About Lucy

My Story

I’ve been practising yoga for more than 30 years now. Over that time possessions, jobs, houses, pets, health, and the people in my life have come and gone but yoga has been the constant. My rock. My go to when things get tough and my haven, the icing on the cake, when things are going well. It’s seen me through the many challenges I have faced and is preparing me for what is to come. Much of life is beyond my control but the way that I breathe, how I place my mind, the quality of my every day movements, what I give my attention to and what I choose to ignore – these are my choice. Yoga has empowered me to understand that I have choices.

Fascinated by the idea of meditation but not really knowing what it was, I started there while still at University. I didn’t come to a physical yoga practice until my late twenties. Initially, I had no idea that meditation and yoga were linked because I thought yoga was simply a physical discipline, a form of exercise. I had much to learn. Still do! Part of that learning is intellectual – the philosophy in which yoga sits and which gives the practice context is vast and can be very complex. And part of that learning is more of an ‘unlearning’ – an experiential, non-thinking unwinding of the fabric of my sense of self that I had previously woven for myself out of my experiences, adopted concepts and beliefs. Yoga is a ‘coming home’, a return to my true self.

My practice these days is a balance of physical movement, breath work and meditation. I work with what helps me and what feels good. My spiritual curiosity has found a home in the meditative practices of Tibetan Buddhism which can best be described as a system of inquiry rather than a religion and, although this gives a little flavour to my teaching, I do not teach Buddhism in my classes.

My approach to teaching is founded deeply in my years of personal experience and the trust I have developed in my practice to bring me back to a sense of harmony and wholeness, both within myself and in relation to the world around me. I find that a steady, kind, and mindful approach to practice (which is not to say that there is no physical challenge) works best for me and those who seek out my teaching. The skill of sharing, honed over the last 15 years, is to gauge what is really needed by those in front of me, to offer encouragement and support, to give choices to adapt to individuals’ needs, and to provide a warm and welcoming community which facilitates the unwinding process in all who attend my classes.

My Approach to Sharing Yoga

It’s your practice. Take the class as an opportunity to explore and experiment, to try some things and leave others, and most of all to feel deeply, to get to know yourself a little better. There is no ‘goal’, no ‘achievement’. Each time we come to the practice afresh, as a beginner, each time carefully tuning in to our body, our breath, our senses, our mind. We discover a layer of our being that exists between the body and the mind – a subtle aspect of our self – and that discovery brings meaning to the movements and breath techniques. Commitment to the practice invites depth and subtlety of feeling, and with that comes depth of relaxation and the possibility of healing, release from long held patterns. We learn to re-integrate the various layers of our being, to come away from the practice feeling a harmonious sense of wholeness. Re-balanced, we return to the world of our every day lives refreshed and ready for what life has in store for us.

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Influences and Gratitude

Meditation and Pranayama Further Studies (ongoing), Maarten Vermaase, Mahasiddha Yoga Group
Meditation Studies (ongoing), Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Tergar
Meditation Studies (ongoing), Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Pundarika UK
Yoga in the Kashmir Tradition (ongoing), Billy Doyle
Kum Nye Teacher Training, Nyingma Institute
Anatomy Trainings (various), Julie Pons
Pranayama Module, Maarten Vermaase, Mahasiddha Yoga Group
Yoga Nidra, Satyaprakash, Satyananda Yoga
Meditation Module II, Maarten Vermaase, Mahasiddha Yoga Group
Special Yoga and Mindfulness for Children and Young People with Autism and ADD / ADHD, Jo Manuel, Special Yoga
Teen Yoga Training, Charlotta Martinus, Teen Yoga
Yoga and Mental Health, Amarjyoti and Shantipriya, Satyanda Yoga
BWY Diploma Course (BWYQ Level 4), Liz Parker and Sue Hayles, British Wheel of Yoga
BWY Meditation Module I, Maarten Vermaase, Mahasiddha Yoga Group
Yoga Foundation Course 2, Jan Wilding, British Wheel of Yoga
Yoga Foundation Course 1, Jan Wilding, British Wheel of Yoga

What Yogis Say

I have attended Lucy's weekly yoga classes for several years, and I can thoroughly recommend them for anyone looking for a refreshing, beneficial experience which combines mobility exercises, breath-work, meditation, and relaxation. Lucy is very attentive and aware of the differing needs of everyone in her classes, without being at all intrusive or over-bearing. The new Sunday morning workshops in Little Comberton Village Hall are a welcome addition to her offerings, and provide an opportunity to go deeper into some of the more subtle aspects of yoga. All in all, if you're looking for authentic yoga taught by an expert teacher, this is it.