Going to your first yoga class can be a daunting experience, even if you don’t get there.

After plumping for yoga as the ideal way to shed a few unwanted pounds (and stone!), I emailed my local yoga studio, to ask about classes. When I recieved the reply, listing at least 10 different yoga types, I almost gave up there and then: Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Jivamukti, Vinyasa, Bikram, Anusara, Kundalini. Where to start? The list seemed endless. I couldn’t pronounce them, let alone do them. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. At least there is a simplicity to the gym: the swimming pool; the sauna – the spelling.

Luckily, as I read down, my saving grace was in the form of a small paragraph added at the bottom. Katherine – who was soon to become my new guru (whether she knew it or not, or even liked it or not) – was advising me to start off slow, perhaps with an introduction to yoga class, or ideally even a 121. Hmmm … a 121? Another, easier to pronounce form of yoga, I suspected. I crafted a reply (giving the impression I knew exactly what I was talking about), stating that I would probably stick with the introductory class for now, as I didn’t feel up to the 121 type of yoga just yet. But – just ti refresh my memory – would Katherine mind giving me a brief description of what this entailed? It wasn’t until I read back through the email in her reply, that I realised what a 121 was (say it out loud).

When I had recovered from my embarrassment (although Katherine needs to get used to this sort of thing is she is to be my guide and guru; best throw her in at the deep end, I say), I booked myself in to a simple beginner’s class. Next step, full of enthusiasm and mildly spiritually-awakened, I got back online to order myself the latest kit, ready for my first real yogic adventure – in a slightly larger size than I will be needing in the futire – obviously!