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Jane Mark-Lawson - Personal Biography

I started practicing yoga in 1988, exploring Hatha and Iyengar yoga. In the mid 1990s, I discovered Ashtanga yoga, practicing with Radha Warrell and the late Derek Ireland at their centre in Crete. From the start, I loved the physical challenge, the breath, concentration and devotion required for an Ashtanga practice. With no Ashtanga teacher in my hometown, and with a demanding job and a family, I travelled to workshops wherever I could and met many inspiring teachers. Slowly my strength, flexibility and breath began to improve. A brief spell working in London gave me access to a regular morning Mysore-style teacher—Hamish Hendry—and I learnt the importance of regular hands-on adjustment. Moving back to Sheffield, I decided to prioritize yoga in my life. I did an intensive 200-hour teacher training course with Brian Cooper and Michael Gannon at Union Yoga and started teaching in Sheffield.

In Kovalam in 2006, I met Lino Miele for the first time, and since then, I have spent between 1-3 months a year practicing with him. He changed my understanding of the practice—and he continues to encourage me to achieve more than I ever think I can. I felt very privileged to attend his first In-depth Study of Ashtanga yoga in 2011. Since then, I have continued to deepen my knowledge of teaching and adjusting, under Lino's guidance, by assisting at his workshops and retreats in India and in Europe.

My teaching focuses on the importance of the breath and the vinyasa system. I teach led classes and morning Mysore-style sessions, the latter with a small but dedicated group of students. I follow the traditional system but treat every student as an individual—as my teachers have done for me.