Student of the Month - September 2026 - Lisa

🌟STUDENT OF THE MONTH 🌟

🧘‍♀️🌟SEPTEMBER STUDENT OF THE MONTH IS…. LISA!🌟🧘‍♀️

One of the lovely things about teaching yoga is watching a student’s practice evolve over many years. Often, though, I think the person least aware of that evolution is the student themselves.

When we first begin yoga, progress can feel quite obvious. We learn new poses, our bodies become stronger and more flexible, and things that once seemed impossible gradually become possible. But as our practice matures, progress becomes much more subtle. The steps become smaller: a little more understanding here, a little more awareness there, a refinement in an action, greater steadiness or sensitivity. Because these changes happen so gradually, we don’t always notice just how far we have travelled.

Lisa has been practising Iyengar yoga with me since 2018 and recently moved from my West Coker class to the new Level 1 class in her own village of Halstock. Watching her practise alongside students who are much newer to Iyengar yoga really brought home to me how much her practice has developed over those eight years, and I loved reading that Lisa had noticed exactly the same thing herself.

What struck me particularly was the quiet confidence and maturity that now runs through Lisa’s practice. So much of what once needed to be taught and reminded is simply there. She knows how to organise herself in the poses, how to use the props intelligently and how to respond to instructions with an understanding that has been built through years of practice. There is a steadiness and familiarity in the way she works that can only really come with time. Lisa has also continued practising through periods of difficulty with a shoulder injury, adapting where necessary but keeping that thread of practice going. I think she should feel enormously proud of the practitioner she has become.

It makes me think of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra 1.14, which tells us that practice becomes firmly established when it is cultivated over a long period of time, with continuity and dedication. Perhaps progress in yoga isn’t always about reaching the next big milestone. Sometimes we need to look back at where we began to recognise all those almost imperceptible steps that have carried us somewhere quite different.

Congratulations Lisa, my Student of the Month. 🙏❤️

❓Tell us a little about yourself …………

🧘‍♀️Hi, I’m Lisa Povey, I’m 59 years old & I work full time from home as a Senior Management Accountant for a large construction & infrastructure company.  I was born in south east London, moved to Maidstone in Kent when I was 9 & then in 2007, my husband Paul & I wanted a lifestyle change so we moved to Dorset & bought a B&B in Halstock which Paul runs.

❓How long have you been practicing yoga?

🧘‍♀️I first attended a yoga class when I was around 20 years old which I enjoyed but only attended for a few months & don’t now recall why I stopped.  Although I thought about taking up yoga again over the years, I didn’t actually get to pick it back up again until a few years after I moved to Dorset in about 2013.  Our local village hall held a yoga class so I joined that.  We had a few teacher changes over about a four year period & then the classes stopped.  I was looking to join another class when I saw Lisa’s advertisement for a new class in West Coker in 2018.  It was the first time I had tried Iyenger yoga & I very much enjoy it as I always strive to do things properly so the emphasis Iyenger yoga places on doing the poses correctly appeals to me.  Also, having many props to help me is really helpful as I’m not overly flexible so being able to get the benefit from the pose with the use of the props is great.  Recently, I changed to Lisa’s new class in Halstock as it’s close to home & although it’s a level one class, it’s been good getting back to basics to reinforce how each pose should be done & it also made me realise how far I’d come since starting my Iyenger journey 8 years ago, however I do miss the people from the West Coker class who are a great bunch to practice with.

❓What made you start yoga?

🧘‍♀️Originally, it was about doing some exercise that didn’t involve running around, but now I also appreciate the various elements yoga offers, not just the exercise, I also like the breath work & I find it calming when I’m stressed, I am also interested in the philosophy of yoga.

❓What’s your favourite pose?

🧘‍♀️Definitely supta baddha konasana. Working hunched over a computer all day, I find this stretches out my back, opens my chest & is so relaxing & comfortable.  I also like many of the balancing poses especially Garudasana as I know how important it is to your body to have good balancing skills especially as you age.

❓What’s your favourite prop?

🧘‍♀️I honestly don’t think I can answer this!  I love all of them, they all have their own purposes & none of them stand out as better than any of the others to me.

❓How has practicing yoga benefitted your life?

🧘‍♀️It has certainly strengthened my body & made me more flexible.  I used to fall over surprisingly often but since doing yoga regularly, I don’t think I’ve fallen over once (famous last words……I’m probably going to regret saying that!)

❓What makes you keep practicing?

🧘‍♀️Mainly the enjoyment of the practice & having a good teacher, but also because I want to keep my body as strong & flexible as possible to benefit me now & hopefully also in old age.

Thank you Lisa for sharing your yoga practice with us! ❤️🙏🧘‍♀️