Having an inflexible body has always been a trait of mine. In my late teens, I once struggled to climb out of a very low-down ground floor window (don’t ask), the whole charade taking me the best part of 45 minutes. My friends still laugh about it. Earlier in life, in the playground I was the one that held everyone else’s coats whilst they did headstands and cartwheels. And although all that was years ago, nothing much on the bendy side of things had changed until now.

I had attempted yoga before, but eventually gave up; as I never really felt comfortable in any of the classes I tried. There was the one that made me stand on my head until I fell over and crashed into some stairs, the beginners’ class that was too advanced; the strange one centered around religion… none of them were really for me. When I started Sexy in the City Bootcamp, the stretching bit at the end almost killed me – the non-stretchiness of my limbs was laughable!

So I went along to a drop in yoga class at Shoreditch Pilates one Saturday morning and loved it. Four weeks later, it’s the highlight of my week. Even though it means getting up fairly early, it’s a fantastic start to the weekend. I’ve also started Pilates, which I find much tougher and more technical than yoga – it seems to be centered on long spines, holding stomach muscles, ribcages and patience. But when the weeks go on and you are no longer the newbie in class, confidence grows (which I’m finding is an essential part of doing anything lately). It’s amazing for de-stressing too. After going at it hard on Monday and Friday mornings at Bootcamp, Pilates and yoga on Tuesdays and Saturdays balance things out. I am already seeing results from the combination of the two – legs are less wobbly, stomach is gradually getting tighter, my posture and balance is improving and most importantly, my mind is finding the ability to switch off for a few hours a week. And if, like me, you are quitting sugar, the classes are a great distraction from thinking about Krispy Kremes!

Lauren Tones