Tell us a bit about yourself Vaughan… 

I’m a local lad, always lived within 7 miles of Chichester. Been married for close to twenty years to my beautiful wife (and fellow yogi) Mel. We have four great kids aged from nineteen down to nine.

I’ve been working in the family business for over twenty five years, our company manufactures specialised fabrics for use in fashion, and more recently window/visual displays industries.

What are your hobbies and interests? 

Football; I’ve been a life long supporter of Portsmouth Football Club. I also help out coaching a youth football team, for which son number-two plays. Always loved my music. I have always really been more into the alternative underground punk/grunge/band scene, although I’m mellowing a bit with age! I have more than a passing interest in aviation and when time permits am more than happy to sit at the airport watching the comings and goings. Have had a fair few flying lessons but it’s a pretty expensive hobby to pursue!

Had you practiced any kind of yoga before starting at LANO?

No, before the first session the idea of practising yoga had never even occurred to me.

When did you start your yoga journey?

It was around last November.

What led you to sign up to a class at LANO?

Our goods friends Steve and Aimee have been practising yoga for a few years and moved down to Chichester end of last year.  Aimee found out about the hot yoga studio and asked my wife Mel if she fancied trying it out.  Mel began going along on a regular basis and began raving about it so I thought I’d better try it out to see what the fuss was all about. This was last November, don’t think I’ve gone more than four to five days without a session since!

How did you find your first class? 

My first class was a bit of a shock to the system. Although everybody, me included, says, “yes I know it’s going to be hard”, I don’t think anything can prepare you for such an intense work-out. It was much more physical than I ever imagined it to be. I was unsure about continuing after the first one but decided that I would only get a fair representation of what it was all about after doing three or four sessions and getting used to the routine.

Which is your favourite LANO practice and why? Do you have a particular LANO class/time (60vs90 minute)/day you like to practice on?

I generally stick to the hot yoga, the 90 around 3 times a week with a 60 thrown in if time permits.

Tell us what brings you back to hot yoga time and again? 

I have found it to be totally addictive. Every session is different, you get good and bad ones.  The most satisfying moment is when you get a breakthrough, when you can take a posture one step further than you have been able to do on the past; this makes you want to come back and improve again and to push yourself a little bit further to get to the next breakthrough.

My motivation to continue also comes from the differences I can see and feel in my own body, I feel I’ve come a long way already and don’t want to lapse into my old bad habits.

What do you feel are the key benefits/changes you have seen in yourself since you began practicing yoga?

I’ve always been a bit of a sloucher which has resulted in a bit of a hunched spine over the years so the yoga sessions have certainly started to straighten me out a bit! There is plenty of encouragement from Neil and Karl in this department and I think they are just as pleased with the changes taking place as I am. I’ve found when walking, sitting and even sleeping that my posture has changed and I’m constantly aware of this. Since taking up the hot sessions I’ve managed to get a bit of tone and definition to my body and managed to shed a stone in weight, in combination with a better diet, which has caused me no end of expense in having to buy new clothes that fit!

Apparently work colleagues tell me I’ve become a lot calmer and measured about things since taking up yoga.

Do you have any other ways, apart from yoga, in keeping healthy? 

I do a daily 15 mile return trip to work on my bike come sun, rain or snow. I try and do at least two 10k treks a week, either running or walking and then there are the numerous walks with our dog, Dave the boxer who always has plenty of energy to burn!

I try and have a healthy diet, eating plenty of fruit and veg and have tried to cut out the crisps and chocolate.

Which posture are you hoping to tackle by the end of 2015?

I still struggle a lot with balancing, so there is plenty of room for improvement in any postures involving standing on one leg! One of my favourites is eagle in the warm up. I’ve just started to be able to wrap my foot around my opposite calf after nine months of trying, slow progress but progress none the less!

As a whole I would just like to keep on making progress in all postures. If I can come on as far again as I have in the last 9 months then I will be extremely pleased.