I have just come in from my garden, having actually managed 20 minutes of yoga. This is actually quite good for me. Although we yogis are meant to spend hours connecting to the divine, I just don’t seem to be able to manage it anymore!
A very good friend dragged me along to my first yoga class five years ago. The discipline, the poses and the breathing got me hooked immediately. The class specialised in ashtanga which, among many other elements, is a cleverly constructed sequence of poses. Yogis are encouraged to focus on their breathing (ujjayi breathing, or ‘breath of fire’) and their bandhas (a series of internal energy gates which are regulated during the practice).