German-born, American-bred Claudia Whitney, 36, wasn't always keen on the idea of doing yoga pretzel poses. She once saw yoga as a foreign form of exercise that wasn't meant for her.
'I had the same excuses as a lot of people I meet today: 'I'm not flexible', 'There is not enough time', or 'This isn't for me',' she says. 'But I finally got into it 11 years ago in New York. I was hooked from my first class. I struggled the whole way through, but the experience shifted me on so many levels that there was no looking back.'
An ancient practice originating in southern India, it seemed like a fad at first, when celebrities (and then everyone else) took to it. But why did the fad not fade?
'Yoga is more than a workout; I think that it becomes a way of life for most people,' says Whitney, now an instructor at Pure Yoga. 'You start to shift destructive patterns on the mat, and then you're capable of changing things in your everyday life. Without this outlook, the poses we do in class mean nothing, and I think that is what keeps people coming back.'
Whitney thinks yoga would benefit youngsters, too, to help calm teenage anxiety and hormonal turmoil.
'I was a wild child - well, I'm still a wild girl - but growing up, I had to face some tough times,' she says. 'Yoga has helped me find balance and calmed me down. I wish I had started earlier, as it really centres you. I've learned to let go of a lot of the nonsense and focus on positive things ... I've honestly never been happier in my life.'
Were you a sporty person as a child?