Absolutely not! The thing I love the most about yoga is how diverse and accommodating it is for all wants and needs.

Whether you are looking for a slow, gentle practice to connect with your body and mind, focusing on breath, you can be introduced to Yin yoga, or if you are wanting a strong, powerful practice and to work up a sweat, there are options such as Vinyasa yoga.

It might be that the first yoga class you try is not the one for you.

Please don’t let that put you off.

Give another style a go and you will be surprised by just how different each practice can be!

Not at all! Yoga is amazing for developing strength and stretching the body, however it is not all about this!

People often say ‘I’m so inflexible I could never do yoga’… But surely that is more reason to give it a try!

You will be amazed at how quickly your body adapts and week after week, just how much it allows you to do!

That being said, I know so many yogi’s who have been practicing for years and still cannot touch their toes.

It is so important to remember that ever body is completely different and as you travel through your yoga journey you will become so much more aware of your body and the incredible things it can do, as well as understand your limits. In every class, something that you find easy and you can perform with little effort, is incredibly challenging to another body, and vice versa.

This was 100% me.

I was a fitness freak, who had to be sweating profusely and gasping for breath for me to think I was ‘working out’.

It took me a while to find the right practice for me, but when I stumbled across vinyasa classes and realised how strong and fast pace these classes could be, I realised that this was the perfect Segway for me to practice yoga frequently.

From these faster paced classes, I learnt to develop my breath work, meditation and stillness soon followed.

I now find that I am so comfortable with stillness, there is nothing boring about letting my body be where it needs to be and I have developed a new found love for what my body endures.

Yes, I still sometimes enjoy building up my heart rate with a sweaty work out, however now that I am so aware of the needs of my body, I limit these as I navigate what is actually benefitting my body long term.

The answer for me is always yoga!

Once again, no..

For some people, yoga and meditation go hand in hand. For others, they are completely different practices and would never think of performing them together.

Meditation can be anything you perform in your daily life. Walking or commuting to work in silence or with peaceful music, doing house chores or even those few minutes before falling asleep when you’re eyes are closed and you begin to allow the mind to unwind.

The beauty of yoga is that it allows you to develop a practice in the way that is right for you, perhaps through a range of breath work techniques, which can be developed in certain yoga classes (not all!).

Alternatively, for those who feel the need to keep their minds busy in order to meditate, yoga flow classes could be your form of meditation. It may take a few tries to become aware of what works best for you.