Lucy Makin

Biography

A practitioner of Hatha yoga for nearly 30 years, Lucy gained her Yoga Alliance-accredited yoga teacher and prenatal teaching certifications while living in the USA. Since then she has taught a wide range of classes, from large, mixed-ability groups, yoga for children, pregnancy yoga, plus one-to-ones and yoga therapy sessions to address students’ specific physical issues/illness. Drawing inspiration from the many teachers she has studied with on both sides of the Atlantic, she has seen yoga have profound benefits to any person at any stage of life. “One of the really appealing things about yoga is its accessibility. Whatever your age, body type, or genetic blueprint, you can do yoga. And in time it will leave you feeling stronger, more balanced and open physically, mentally, emotionally - on so many levels.”

In 2018, Lucy became accredited by the Prison Phoenix Trust, leading to teaching yoga and meditation in prison and other secure units in the South, which she loves. She has also written a book: Yoga Off the Mat for anyone who would like to benefit from yoga postures and breathing techniques, but finds themselves unable, for any reason, to get to a yoga class. Copies are available in the Shop page of this website.

What do you get up to when not teaching/ practising yoga?

“I have a few things on the go... I chair a local, auditioned choir called The Cecilia Consort, which performs 2+ concerts per

year in the Newbury, plus provides smaller groups for weddings, funerals, etc. We sing a range of music, including a lot of scrunchy close harmony, often unaccompanied pieces. I’ve always sung and been in choirs and just love it: blending your voice with others, using just your body as the instrument, is such a wonderful, really primal thing. One of the reasons why singing and yoga complement each other is to do with breath control. Both involve taking a big inhalation and letting it out slowly, both give you that sense of real euphoria, plus peace and contentment, better cardiovascular health and all that good stuff too. Finally, my hubby and I are involved with various charities: his passions tend towards conservation; protecting trees, birds, butterflies, etc. I’m more motivated by human conservation, I guess, so I support (and have volunteered in the past for) Médecins Sans Frontières, The Charlie Waller Trust, and We See Hope.

Favourite posture?

If I had to choose just one, it would be downward-facing dog, but I love half pigeon too.

What’s on your bucket list?

Despite all these years of yoga, I’ve never been to India, so that’s right at the top, but given how much there is to see and do there, I may have to retire before I can go!