For Lynne Mollison and her daughter Anna Wilson from Aberdeen, their shared passion for yoga blossomed around 2016.
They started going to classes together in Foodstory every Sunday when Anna was just 12.
The Sunday morning routine became so special for the pair of them, and it was always something nice to do together.
Back then, they never imagined they’d both become yoga instructors, never mind go on to hosting retreats abroad together.
And although they both teach their own classes, and have different styles, their shared love of the practice just brought them even closer.
Growing up in Oman and Aberdeen
Lynne is originally from Monifieth and her eldest daughter Olivia was born in Dundee.
They moved to Aberdeen more than 20 years ago, and Anna was born here.
But Anna’s dad worked in the oil industry, which took their family to Oman in the Middle East for five years — where Liam, the youngest, was born.
Lynne said living in Oman was a “carefree and lovely” childhood for the kids, who would wear shorts and t-shirts to school, and spend most of their time at the beach or in the pool.
They moved back to the north-east when Anna was in primary three, and she says she can just remember thinking how different things were in Scotland.
Despite this, she was excited to get her school uniform and soon got stuck into gymnastics and trampolining, which she did for a few years.
Anna even competed in trampolining but says she took it “too seriously” and being so young in a competitive sport “took the fun out of it”.
“She got into the Scottish and British championships for trampolining,” Lynne beamed with pride. Then added: “It was a lot of pressure on you when you were so young.
“I just wanted you to enjoy it — which you did.”
When Anna started going to yoga classes with her mum at 12 years old, she said she could move her body in similar ways, but without competitiveness.
That’s when her love for yoga truly started, and she stepped away from trampolining to focus on her practice.
‘Yoga is just one of the things that bonds us’
Lynne is a part-time support for learning primary school teacher. She spends the rest of her week teaching yoga at the Heritage Hall in Culter and working as a holistic therapist from her home and at the Deeside Wellbeing Collective.
She qualified as a yoga instructor in 2017 and at first had a studio where she taught the practice at their home in Finzean.
Lynne also studied to become a holistic therapist, and Anna was always the first to sign up as a volunteer to help with her mum’s training, enjoying the facials and massages.
“I wanted to be a yoga teacher because I just think it’s so good for people’s mental health,” she explained. “It really helped me during a difficult time, and I wanted to help people if they’re going through something difficult.
“That’s how I got into the holistic therapies as well. Anything that helped me, I then wanted to go and share with other people.”
And, Anna would join her classes whenever she had the chance during her studies. After leaving school at 17, she followed in her mum’s footsteps and started training to become a yoga teacher too.
She knew from a young age that she had wanted to become a teacher, and from a young age could even imagine opening up her own studio one day.
Anna qualified when she was 18 and now teaches vinyasa at Breathing Space in Aberdeen.
They spend a lot of time in each other’s classes, supporting and encouraging one another, learning from each other, and even covering classes.
“Yoga is what bonds us,” Lynne explained. “Well one of the things…”
‘Mum is my go-to person’
They are very close, with both agreeing they’re friends as well as mother and daughter.
They now live just two minutes apart from each other in Peterculter, and spend a lot of time together, whether that’s going for coffee or going away on holiday together.
Anna says her mum is her “go-to person” when something comes up.
And when Anna and her boyfriend Craig went to pick up their cat Milo, the only grey cat with blue eyes left in the litter, Lynne went along with them.
She says that’s when her cat Teddy picked her, so she just had to take him home too, and Nala picked Craig.
So they had gone for one cat and ended up leaving with three.
When they aren’t stretching on their mats, the pair often go to a gym class or pilates session together — and keep each other busy.
Anna says her mum has always been active, and she grew up watching her take part in marathons, including the New York Marathon, and half marathons.
Then, Lynne found yoga, which forced her to slow down.
But throughout lockdown, her daughter kept her busy and became her personal trainer, and the pair would spend a lot of time in the gym they’d made in their garage.
They’ve also got into sea swimming this year, enjoying dips at Aberdeen beach before heading into the sauna.
The first time they went together was on Mother’s Day, but the weather was so extreme and the waves so massive that the beach was closed to the public, so they just ended up going to the sauna. Despite a rocky start, it’s become a part of their routine together.
“It’s a bit addictive once you get started,” Anna added.
But it’s not just Lynne and Anna who share a passion for exercise in the family…
Lynne’s mum, who turns 75 this year, likes to try all the things her daughter and granddaughter do.
“She still runs, anything we’re doing she’s really interested and wants to know more,” Lynne said. “My mum was a teacher as well, but since she’s retired she’s had more time.
“I was doing a HIIT workout one day and she asked what I was doing. When I explained what it was she asked me to make her one.
“She loves cold water swimming and has an ice tub for her garden too.”
Anna said her grandma’s routine is “inspiring” and said she even does one of her online classes every morning.
Anna’s love for cooking began in her mum’s kitchen
Lynne has been vegetarian since she was 17 and decided to bring her children up that way too — which Anna says she’s “very grateful” for.
But when Anna turned 12 and started researching nutrition, where food comes from and the environmental impacts, she decided to become fully plant-based.
The 12-year-old shared what she learned with her mum, and Lynne was soon persuaded to become a vegan. While her siblings are still vegetarian, her dad and grandma are now plant-based too.
This love stemmed from when Anna helped her mum with baking as a little girl. As she got older became more interested in cooking.
“I always did the Christmas dinner,” Lynne explained. “And as Anna got a wee bit older she was doing more and more of the helping.
“I’m sure it was when she was about 12 she did the main plant-based wellington, and I did all the trimmings. Every year she did a bit more and a bit more until she just said ‘Mum, I’m doing it’.
“She’s a really good cook — I’m more often round at hers for dinner.”
Now, Anna enjoys hosting dinners at the flat she shares with her boyfriend Craig and shares her passion in the kitchen making delicious vegan dishes on her TikTok account.
From learning yoga together to hosting retreats
Lynne went to a retreat in Portugal at a venue outside Faro and loved the experience.
As she was practicing on the beautiful yoga deck, she could just see herself hosting a retreat there. As soon as she got back home she asked Anna if she would like to host a retreat with her.
Straight away the answer was yes.
Anna had only been a qualified teacher for around six months by that point, but with her mum’s support, she was confident they could do it together.
Lynne taught meditation and journalling in the morning, followed by Anna’s vinyasa. Then in the afternoon, her daughter would take guests on excursions, but anyone who didn’t want to go could stay behind for a treatment.
In the evening, Lynne would teach yin and restorative yoga for everyone to wind down.
“It was just so special,” Anna said. “And it’s a nice collaboration, we work well together and balance each other out.”
So much so that they’ve decided to host another retreat next April in Catalonia, Spain, which has been so well received it is already fully booked.
‘We’re very fortunate — running retreats together is a dream come true’
There were two other mums and daughters at their first retreat, who had travelled from London and Canada. They have all signed up to join Lynne and Anna in Spain next year too.
Because they are a mother-and-daughter team, they think people assumed it was a mother-and-daughter retreat. But Lynne stressed their retreats are open to any woman.
She finished: “We know each other so well and can kind of predict what each other is thinking, or what we’re going to do.
“We don’t really need to have big conversations about it, like I can predict how Anna would think about or deal with something and vice versa. And we’ve got the same sort of ideas and the same values.
“Anna and I are just really excited about what we’re going to do next.
“We’re very fortunate and running the retreats together is just a dream come true.”
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