It is 6:55am, the sun hasn’t yet fully risen and I am sitting outside on a yoga mat, tired and stiff, wondering what I’ve let myself in for. Before I booked this week-long Ibizan retreat, my experience of yoga was limited to a beginner’s DVD, bought for me, perhaps ironically, by a family member. So, why on earth did I decide to spend a week with a group of strangers who would doubtlessly be out-yoga-ing me at every turn? Well, it’s becoming quite a popular choice. Yoga is booming in the US, where the number of people who practice it regularly has risen from 36.7 million in 2015 to what is expected to be around 55 million next year.
Its popularity is increasing in the UK, too. A recent survey by Champney’s (champneys.com) found that 44 per cent of British women would prefer a yoga retreat or spa experience, to a traditional boozy hen night. But for me, it was more about food. Any vegan who’s ever been abroad knows what it’s like to be hopelessly scouring a restaurant menu, before turning sheepishly to the waiter and venturing, “Vegano?” If that sounds familiar, then you will certainly know the blank expression that follows.