Gillian Lester has been a yoga practitioner for 12 years and is a fully qualified yoga teacher, having gained her 200 hour Diploma of Yoga Teacher  Training in 2009. Gillian is a member of the Independant Yoga Network and a member of the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) as a Level 3 Yoga Teacher. She is also a qualified Thai Yoga Massage Therapist.

She shares her love of yoga with her students with an enthusiasm that is infectious!An experienced 10K and middle-distance runner, Gillian has personally experienced the benefit of yoga and massage and now always includes yoga as part of her training regimes, when embarking on an long distance or endurance activity. She enjoys walking, cycling, swimming and kayaking as well as running . She does most of these activities from her base near Aberfoyle and has an in-depth knowledge of the roads and tracks around Loch Ard Forest.

Gillian completed the first Scottish Moonwalk in Edinburgh in 2006, power-walking 26.2 miles in under 61/2 hours with a friend. Between the two of them, they raised over £1000 for Scottish breast cancer charities and agencies. After several years of mid-distance running, Gillian successfully undertook her first running marathon in October 2009, again raising money - just under £1000 for Chest Heart Stroke Scotland. Running in 2010 took a bit of a back seat due to other demands, but she was very pleased to finish 2 half marathons (Mull and Aviemore) with fairly respectable times for someone who now runs in the 'Supervet' category. A 350 mile cycling holiday trip in the Western Isles, from Isle of Barra to the Butt of Lewis was the highlight of that year, although strong crosswinds made it a bit more of a challenge than expected! Happy to say both Gillian and her husband made it with only one broken spoke between them, no punctures or arguements and then celebrated their acheivement with a well deserved couple of nights at Broad Bay House near Stornaway and finished at Braemore Square Country House, near Ullapool before heading home.

The idea for the 2011 "Big Swim to Callander" proved too ambitious and was 'downgraded' to open swimming outside wherever and whenever possible. 

Stop Press: 2012 challenge announced! Gillian has entered the Moonwalk Iceland ~ 26.2 miles of power-walking, starting at midnight in total lightness! This is a fundraising event to support breast cancer charities.    

"I started yoga after recovering from an injury 12 years ago, and now get so much enjoyment and benefit from my yoga practice, it is great to be able to introduce it to other people and help them develop and benefit from it, too"