Iyengar Yoga with Lisa Wylde

25/07/2026

🌟🧘‍♀️STUDENT OF THE MONTH🧘‍♀️🌟
🌟July 2026 Student of the month is… Jane!

Some people seem to have yoga in their DNA…..

From the very first time Jane came to class, I had the feeling that this was not her first encounter with Iyengar Yoga. She seemed to instinctively understand the work… naturally finding alignment, listening deeply to the instructions and quickly processing what she heard.

Whether or not you believe in reincarnation, there is something about Jane’s practice that makes me wonder if she has done this before. Perhaps, in another lifetime, she was already practising yoga. Perhaps the seeds of that practice have simply carried forward into this one.

There is an instinctive understanding in the way Jane works. She is systematic, attentive and incredibly focused. She doesn’t need a lot of instruction or correction; she listens, observes and then seems to understand. I rarely need to say very much to her during a class because she picks things up so quickly.

And this, to me, is beautifully connected to the vijñānamaya kośa - the sheath of wisdom, discernment and understanding.

For some people, when they come to yoga, it can feel as though everything has to be learned from the beginning. For others, something seems to be waiting there already. A familiarity, an instinctive understanding, a recognition. Jane is one of those people.

She works with such concentration and focus that the practice seems to reveal itself to her almost effortlessly. Not because she doesn’t work hard - she does! - but because she listens so deeply that the instructions become understanding, and the understanding becomes action.

Jane, it has been a joy to watch you practise and to see the quiet, thoughtful way you approach your yoga. You are a very deserving Student of the Month. 🧘‍♀️✨

❓Tell us a little about yourself

🧘🏼‍♂️Hello, I'm Jane and I live in West Coker with my partner Steve. I work for a firm of financial advisers and spend much of my time in the office crunching numbers, so I like to get out and about when I'm not at work. I enjoy exploring local villages, especially if there's a fete and a tombola to try my luck on. I also enjoy "trig bagging" – tracking down the concrete Ordnance Survey trig points that are often found on the top of hills. It takes us to places we might never have visited otherwise and, although it can involve a steep climb, the views are usually well worth the effort.

❓How long have you been practicing yoga?
🧘🏼‍♂️I first tried yoga about 25 years ago, but I moved house and changed jobs - life moved on, and yoga slipped into the background. Then, when Lisa started a class in the village in 2018, I decided to give it another go, and I’ve been coming ever since.

❓What made you start yoga?
🧘🏼‍♂️I’d always been fairly flexible, so yoga seemed like something that would suit me and help me stay that way. But I soon realised there’s a lot more to it, and that flexibility isn’t always the advantage I thought it was. What’s kept me engaged is the precision and clarity of Iyengar yoga - the way each pose is broken down and worked through appeals to my sense of order, and that steady, methodical approach is what’s kept me coming back.

❓What’s your favourite pose?
🧘🏼‍♂️Trikonasana was one of the first poses I learned, and it’s stayed a favourite. I love how the whole body gets involved — feet, legs, hips, trunk and arms — and when everything works together, there’s a real feeling of openness and lightness.

❓What’s your favourite prop?
🧘🏼‍♂️A chair – I find it really versatile. It can provide stability, support and a bit of leverage when needed. I love that it can be used in so many different positions – open or closed, forwards or backwards, up or down – depending on what the pose needs.

❓How has practicing yoga benefitted your life?
🧘🏼‍♂️Yoga has become a really important part of my week. It gives me a bit of space to slow down and focus, and I like having that built‑in pause where I can just be present for a while. Some weeks it helps me settle, other weeks it gives me a bit more energy, but whatever the class is like, I'm always glad I made the effort to go, even on the dark, cold winter evenings when it would have been easier to stay at home.

❓What makes you keep practicing?
🧘🏼‍♂️I like that there is always something new to explore and improve, and that the practice can be adapted to how you are feeling on the day. Coming to class also helps me maintain some discipline, especially when my home practice is a bit hit and miss!

❓Anything else you’d like to add?
🧘🏼‍♂️After starting and stopping yoga many years ago, I’m glad I found my way back to it. I enjoy that there is always something new to learn and that the practice continues to evolve over time.

Thank you Jane for sharing your yoga journey with us! ❤️🙏🕉️

15/07/2026

So many of us first come to yoga because something hurts.

🕉️ Perhaps it’s back pain, stiff shoulders, anxiety, grief, exhaustion, or an injury that simply won’t go away. We arrive looking for a solution to a problem. But somewhere along the way, the practice changes. We realise it was never just about the aching knee or the stressful job. Yoga becomes part of who we are. It teaches us patience, resilience, awareness and acceptance. It helps us meet life with a little more steadiness.

❤️ I loved this article because the writer describes her scoliosis not simply as something to overcome, but as the very thing that led her to a daily yoga practice. What once felt like an obstacle became the doorway.

✨It’s a lovely reminder that our greatest challenges can sometimes become our greatest gifts. Without them, many of us might never have stepped onto a yoga mat in the first place.

🙏Sometimes the path we would never have chosen turns out to be exactly the one we needed.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jul/15/a-moment-that-changed-me-i-started-yoga-and-saw-my-scoliosis-in-a-surprising-new-light

As a teenager I declined a painful operation to straighten my spinal curvature, and it was a decision I sometimes regretted. But through daily stretching and exercise, my relationship with my body was transformed

23/06/2026

🌟🧘‍♀️STUDENT OF THE MONTH🧘‍♀️🌟
🌟June 2026 Student of the month is……. Mark Probert!!
Mark Probert is well known and much loved within our yoga community. In a curious twist of timing, although we had never met, Mark and I were both in India in January 2020, just before the world changed in ways none of us could have imagined. When classes resumed later the following year, Mark joined one of my classes. Perhaps his recent visit to India had already sparked an interest, because he quickly became one of the most committed and inquisitive students in the class.

Mark embraced yoga with enthusiasm, curiosity and an open mind. His practice has gone hand in hand with a wider exploration of yoga’s rich traditions and history, something that became particularly evident during his second trip to India. As he mentions in his answers below, one highlight was visiting the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune (where I was in 2020), where he interviewed Prashant Iyengar, son of BKS Iyengar. Parts of that interview appeared in Mark’s book, with a longer version later published in the Iyengar Yoga (UK) magazine, something that filled me with immense pride.

What I especially admire about Mark is the breadth of his interest. While deeply appreciative of Iyengar Yoga, he has explored many different strands of yogic knowledge, giving him a thoughtful and well-rounded perspective. Despite all he has learned and achieved, he remains incredibly humble, kind and generous. When his second book about travelling in India was published, he gave a wonderful talk for my students about his travels and research, sharing his knowledge with great warmth, humour and enthusiasm.

It is also a pleasure to see Mark attend classes alongside his wife, Jan, who was herself a previous Student of the Month. Together they are a lovely part of our community, and I am delighted to feature Mark this month.

Thank you Mark for all you bring to our community!

❓Tell us a little about yourself …………………

🧘‍♀️I am Mark Probert, aged 72 and married to Janice. We've lived in Yetminster since 2021, having lived previously in many parts of Britain, and for a short while in France. We have two sons, one in London and one in Bristol, and a daughter and grand-daughter nearby in Sherborne. I retired from a career in map-making six years ago and now mostly spend my time on Jan’s job list, writing, cycling, travelling, gardening and enjoying various clubs and activities in the village... including yoga, of course.

❓How long have you been practicing yoga?

🧘‍♀️I began when we moved to Yetminster in 2021. Jan started soon after and we’ve been practicing weekly since then.

❓What made you start yoga?

🧘‍♀️Over the years I’ve always enjoyed taking part in sports and activities - particularly football, sailing, cycling, hill-walking and running. As the years tick by I do less of those. I’m beginning to think that my chances of playing for England in the World Cup, or in a Lords Test, may be fading. Likewise, I may have left it too late for the Tour de France. But I still cycle and walk a lot, and I want to maintain as much fitness, movement and flexibility as possible, for as long as I can. I see yoga as helping with this, and I particularly like the precision and pace of Iyengar yoga.

❓What’s your favourite pose?

🧘‍♀️I suppose everyone chooses the pose they are most comfortable with and for me that seems to be Vrksāsana (tree pose), although Lisa recently introduced me to supported karnapidāsana (resting on shoulders with thighs supported on chair) - and I found that surprisingly relaxing.

❓What’s your favourite prop?

🧘‍♀️The bolster. Its a bit of a lump to haul around but its very adaptable and supportive for many positions.

❓How has practicing yoga benefitted your life?

🧘‍♀️When I began practicing yoga I found there was something unusual happening, apart from the physical benefits. It might be to do with the friendly group, the teacher, slowing down and being mindful for over an hour, energy flows, and/or something else (but probably all of these). However weary I might feel when I go into a class, I always come out feeling better! My curiosity has led me to yoga centres in Mumbai, Mysuru, and Pune - where I was fortunate (with some help from Lisa) to meet BKS Iyengar’s son Prashant at the famous RIMYI. I’ve also attended workshops in London on yoga for health and Mallakamb (pole / rope yoga).

❓What makes you keep practicing?

🧘‍♀️Yoga is something to which you can adapt as time goes by - some things become easier... some not so much! I’d like to keep the physical, mental and social benefits going as long as I can.

❓Anything else you’d like to add?

🧘‍♀️I feel very fortunate to have discovered Iyengar yoga, to have such an enthusiastic and supportive teacher, and to have such a friendly group of fellow class-mates. I aim to keep moving and learning for as long as I can, hoping my knee clicks and gentle groans aren’t too much of a distraction for everyone else! Namaste.

Thank you Mark for sharing your yoga journey with us! ❤️🙏🕉️
Mark Probert Author

28/05/2026

🌟🧘‍♀️STUDENT OF THE MONTH🧘‍♀️🌟
🌟May 2026 Student of the month is……. Gina!

Gina has been coming to my classes for about a year and a half now, and over that time she has become a steady and deeply committed presence in the room. She tends to work at the back, very unassuming, but there is never any sense of disengagement. In fact, quite the opposite. There is a real sense of full attention in the way she practices, each instruction is received and absorbed completely, without distraction. Gina attends two classes a week, in East and West Coker and has recently added a third class, class at the Castle Cary studio with the wall ropes. It has been a joy to see her willingness to expand her practice in this way.

In a recent study of Patañjali’s Yoga Sûtrā 1.20 in the Level 2 classes, we reflected on the qualities needed for the yogic path: faith, courage, intelligence, and memory. These qualities are not fixed, but something that can be cultivated through practice. I see all of these unfolding in Gina. There is a steady faith in the method of Iyengar yoga that has supported her in meeting something initially unfamiliar in the ropes work, where she admitted feeling nervous at first. Alongside this, I have watched her courage grow, not in a dramatic way, but in an unwavering willingness to stay with what is challenging. She also works with real intelligence in relation to her own body, adjusting and refining her understanding with care and sensitivity. And her memory in practice is remarkable. Once something is shown, it stays with her; props, adjustments, and instructions are consistently remembered and integrated. It feels as though what she is learning is settling deeply, and will continue to support her whole practice over time.

Well done Gina! What a pleasure and a privilege it is to teach you!

❓Tell us a little about yourself……

🧘‍♀️I am Gina Homewood. I have lived in Yeovil since 2024, having moved from Sussex to be nearer family after being widowed. I’m 68 and work part time (mostly from home) as a contracts lawyer. When I am not working or attending yoga classes I like walking in the countryside especially long distance paths and national trails (currently part way through the Dartmoor Way). I also like going on cruises, looking forward to seeing a total solar eclipse in Spain on my next one in August.

❓How long have you been practicing yoga?

🧘‍♀️On and off since about 2006.

❓What made you start yoga?

🧘‍♀️My friend Mary Mulligan first took me along to one of her Iyengar classes in 2006. I found an evening class local to me the following month and tried to attend regularly until the classes were discontinued. Over the following years I attended other classes from time to time and some retreats or workshops with Mary, but work commitments (and house moves) got in the way, and I never practised regularly. However on moving to Yeovil I found Lisa’s classes (through Mary) and have attended since January 2025.

❓What’s your favourite pose?

🧘‍♀️I have a soft spot for viparita karani as it is the first Iyengar yoga pose I ever learned.

❓What’s your favourite prop?

🧘‍♀️I like the back support offered by a bolster in supta baddhakonāsana, and the wall (if that’s a prop!) in vrksāsana as balance is often a challenge for me.

❓How has practicing yoga benefitted your life?

🧘‍♀️My work has mostly involved sitting at a desk in front of a screen so I definitely feel the benefit of moving my body in ways I wouldn’t normally do.

❓What makes you keep practicing?

🧘‍♀️I love the way Iyengar yoga can be adapted with props to my own limitations so I can get the benefit of each pose. Also with more regular attendance at classes I have noticed gradual improvements in poses which is a great motivator.

In my work and personal life I always seem to be juggling several things at once but a yoga class creates a calm space where other things are set aside and I can just concentrate on the poses

Also the stories of the other students in Lisa’s classes are so encouraging and uplifting - I want some of what they’ve got!

❓Anything else you’d like to add?

🧘‍♀️I like having the opportunity to work with wall ropes at the new yoga studio in Castle Cary. I was rather nervous at first but as a prop they do offer another interesting level of support in many poses, including hanging upside down.

Thank you Gina for sharing your yoga journey with us! ❤️🙏🕉️