I'M NOT A YOGA PERSON, BUT IT'S MY NEW FLEXIBLE FRIEND

I’d resisted yoga for years. I saw it as something other people did, and I didn’t see myself as that type of person. But as I got older and the injuries mounted, I’d talk about doing it.

- PAUL TONKINSON

Friends would look at me and say, “You should, it works.” In the morning, I’d shuffle to the shower, look at myself in the mirror and think – this body needs yoga.  To be honest, I was slightly nervous about doing yoga publicly.

I felt sure I was going to be bad at it. Despite all the spiritual aspects, the salutations and the incantations, it seemed a slightly judgemental environment. There was gear involved – mats and special bottles, Lycra pants. My wife came back from her sessions and told me that some people were good at it and some weren’t. Perhaps more crucially, no one was breaking wind loudly, something that felt inevitable if I were to do it. As an enthusiastic wind-breaker round the house, I didn’t want to inflict this on others.