When glancing at a Gym timetable it’s clear that there are many different forms of Yoga. From Iyengar to Hatha, they all have strange names that most of us don’t really know the meaning of, but they sound spiritual so they sound cool.

I recently tried yoga for the first time, attending a session of Vinyasa yoga, which means a sequence of movement, or poses. Though a more accurate definition would probably be ‘hurting muscles for a few days afterwards’.

I admit I was nervous before attending.  I stupidly watched a few YouTube videos of experts doing the impossible with no strain at all.  It was like watching Yoda floating in midair, except these yoga poses looked even more impossible.  If Luke Skywalker thought training to be a Jedi was tough, maybe he should stop moaning and get to a yoga session.

Luckily I was with my Wife, so I didn’t have to bear this all my own. We were the first to arrive, apart from some random guy who left just before the session. Very odd.

Soon enough the room was full, and just like the starting grid at formula one, everybody was ready to go. The lights dimmed down, and I suddenly began to relax.

Well, that was until the weird short guy in front of us started breathing like a wounded elephant.  How hard can it be to breathe quietly?  Thankfully this didn’t last for too long.

As the session got going, the poses of course got more difficult.  But I wasn’t made to feel inadequate.  The teacher would initially show a simple pose, and that would develop far more complex poses.  Some people were balancing on one arm, and doing things that the likes of Yoda could only dream about.  A few people such as myself though were more than happy to keep it simple, so it was good to know I wasn’t in a room full of professionals.

Overall I would highly recommend yoga.  I have been to another one since this, but it was more for relaxing and aimed at old people. It was really boring. I recommend waiting until you’re 85 years old to do relaxing yoga.