I started attending the best yoga classes with a bit of scepticism as everyone always would say you really should do yoga. It is still something that people say, although not to me as I am now a yogi, but as a general comment. And yet, it is true. Yoga really can be life-changing and it has changed my life in many ways.

When I started yoga, my first class was a bit odd. I thought it was nice, and I liked the whole vibe, but I was new and so I realised I had a lot to learn. But I had a great yoga teacher, the yoga studio was absolutely simple but beautiful, and I loved the vibe. The more I did yoga, and I started going to classes three times a week simply because I really loved them, the more I enjoyed the practice. And ten years later, I am slim, I am strong, I am calm, I can calm myself down when need be, and I am a much more relaxed person than I ever was before. I attribute my strength of body and mind to my yoga.

You don’t have to be good at yoga to benefit

The first thing you will learn in a yoga studio is that you do not have to be the best at yoga and that yoga is a non-competitive exercise. You are only in competition with yourself. It does not matter if you never get to do a headstand. Each person has their own body and each person’s body is different. Not all bodies can stretch the same way, not all people can easily reach their toes, and not all people can do a backbend. And none of that matters!

With yoga you practise to the best of your ability. I must say that in my many years of doing yoga, my body has changed. I still cannot do a headstand, and I do not want to so it is fine, but I am so much more flexible these days. It took time, and even when I was really inflexible, yoga did so much for me. It cleared my mind. It helped me lose weight. It helped me grow in confidence.

Yoga as a passion

It is easy to become passionate about yoga. And when you start doing yoga, you will find that you want to grow your knowledge and you will want to learn more. I never thought I would get into the chanting but now I know the words to every chant and I absolutely love it. I know what the postures mean in English and in Sanskrit and I understand what the different postures do to my body and my mind. I learned slowly without effort. If you hear something often enough, it sinks in. I love the five-minute meditation at the end of yoga. And my best yoga classes have really changed my life.